Dirty Little Secret
by sarahserenity6296
Summary: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being three of them, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows something is seriously going on with Tyler Lockwood and she'll do anything to figure it out. AU. Forwood!
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 1

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't knew existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

**Author's Note**: Well, I've been struggling with whether or not to write this and in the end (obviously) the story won. I'm probably taking on way more than I should, but hey, I do better under a lot of pressure. Forwood is my favorite VD couple besides Delena and I don't think there's enough fics for them, so I decided to do something about it. Tell me what you think. (;

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><p>Tyler Lockwood was staring at her yet again. She was at her locker talking to her boyfriend Matt about football or work or something. Oh, she didn't know! She was too distracted by said boyfriend's best friend staring at her like some kind of stalker. He'd been doing that a lot lately and it was starting to grade on her nerves. Like, seriously! She's dating his best friend! And yeah, Tyler was the school renowned dick and player but she didn't think he would hit on his best friend's girl. Wasn't that against, like guy code or something? Did guy's have a code? Hm. She wasn't sure.<p>

Anyways, this was getting out of hand. He's been staring creepily at her for over a week now, and while Matt hasn't noticed, she sure as hell has. At first, she blew it off with the explanation of she was imagining things and she seriously should consider deflating her ego. But then it kept happening and happening and happening until she realized that a.) she wasn't losing her mind and b.) Tyler Lockwood was, in fact, staring at her.

She really started noticing it after the disastrous Masquerade Ball two weeks ago. Major Lockwood (Tyler's mom; she had taken over for his dad, who died a month ago in a car accident) threw a lot of parties and balls and the Masquerade was easily one of the most popular. Who wouldn't want to dress up and put on a mask? It was mysterious and sexy and fun. Anyways, so tons of people showed up and the first few hours went by without a hitch, but after that, it went downhill. Caroline, Tyler, Matt and a few other kids from school were in a small office, goofing off and talking. Everything was fine until this girl named Sarah, who was more than a little drunk, kept hanging off of Tyler, being obnoxious and overall making an idiot out of herself. She kept trying to get him to take her to his bedroom and "show her a good time" but he refused. She kept trying and trying until finally, Tyler got annoyed and told her to get the hell off of him and go sober up. She had gotten pissed and tried to slap him. Her friend grabbed her and tried to get her out of the room, but Sarah started freaking out. Tyler tried to pick her up and carry her out of the room, but she grabbed a pen off the desk and attacked him. Like, literally _attacked_ him. She stabbed him in the shoulder with the pen and tried again, but he shoved her off of him. She fell and hit her head on the desk. They thought it had just knocked her out cold, but on further inspection, they realized she wasn't breathing. They tried to revive her but it didn't help. She was dead.

Everyone in the room was questioned about what happened. Everyone told the same story. She went insane and attacked Tyler. He pushed her, she fell and hit her head. It was self defense. Tyler didn't get into any legal trouble, but you could tell how messed up he was by the whole thing. Tyler was a dick, but he wasn't a monster. He felt horrible for being the one responsible for taking a girl's life, even if it was an accident and in self defense.

She'd been trying to cut Tyler some slack because of everything, but he was really started to get on her nerves and freak her out.

"Earth to Care, are you listening?" Matt asked, bringing her attention back to him and away from Tyler. He looked slightly annoyed and a little worried at her lack of attention. Sure, she was a little out there, but she usually didn't blatantly ignore him.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed. She shifted her weight to her other foot and forced herself to stop looking at Tyler. "I'm just a little…distracted. What were you saying?"

"You've been acting really weird the last few weeks," he pointed out, his blonde eyebrows scrunching together over his blue eyes and a frown forming on his lips. "Is something going on?"

_Oh, nothing. Its just your asshole of a best friend won't stop looking at me and its seriously starting to give me the creeps and if he doesn't stop soon I will Mace him so you may want to-_

"Care!" Matt exclaimed, annoyance leaking into his voice.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" she said, pushing a stray piece of hair out of her face. She grabbed her History textbook out of her locker and slammed it shut, hoping Tyler would get the message that she was so not in the mood for his creepy staring today. But in her moment of annoyance, she didn't think of the fact that Matt just might think its him she was sending her warning to.

He stepped back from her and his annoyed look turned into a pissed off one. "Caroline, what is going on with you?"

She sighed and hitched her bag over her shoulder. "Nothing," she lied. She contemplated telling him about Tyler, but decided against it. As much as she wished Tyler would stop, she didn't want to put a kink in their little bromance. She ran a hand through her hair and tried her best to smile. It came out more as a grimace. "Look, Matt, I'm fine. I'm just a little stressed. I'm trying to plan the car wash fundraiser and Tiki is on my ass about it, and there aren't enough people signing up and-"

Matt was accustomed to her babbling by now so he did what he usually did to shut her up. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and a boyish grin that made her melt inside. "Okay," he said. "I'm sorry. If you want, I can help with getting people signed up."

While her explanation for being so distant and out of it was kind of a lie, she really did need help with getting people to do the fundraiser. She gave him a million watt smile. "Thanks, Matt!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "You're a life saver!"

He blushed and shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "I guess," he said, bashfully.

"No, you are," she assured him. The one minute bell rang and she sighed. "Listen," she said. "Can you talk to Stefan at practice today about being a volunteer? I'd talk to him in History but…" But she didn't want to endure him and her best friend making "You're my soul mate" looks at each other. She was happy for Elena but _come on_, no one wanted to see that!

Matt nodded understandably and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you later," he said and began jogging down the hall in vain hope of making it to his Algebra class in time.

Resisting the urge to look to see if Tyler was there, she turned on her heels and sauntered down the hall to her History class. Before she was halfway there, the tardy bell rang and she sighed. Cursing underneath her breath, she quickened her speed and nearly ran to class.

She arrived to class just a few seconds late but of course, Mr. Tanner had to climb down her throat about it. Mr. Tanner was the biggest dick ever and no one liked him. He thought that he knew everything and he was never wrong. His ego would put even Tyler's to shame, which was hard to believe. He was also the football coach and he had a very hard time separating coaching from teaching. And even when he was teaching, it felt like he was preaching at you more so than teaching.

_All hail the mighty Mr. Tanner…._

"Miss Forbes, why are you late?" he asked, giving her that shit eating grin that made her want to spray her perfume in those beady eyes of his. Why was he smiling, anyways? Wasn't he scolding her? Oh, wait, she forgot to add sadistic asshole to that long list of things she couldn't stand about him. He enjoyed yelling at people. The prick….

She resisted the urge to flip him off and headed to her seat beside Elena, who was giving her a sympathetic look. Pu-lease. Caroline was use to dealing with pissy, egotistical people. She was head cheerleader after all.

"Because Mr. Tanner," she said, sweetly, "I was tending to a little problem."

"Yeah," an obvious voice she knew belonged to Cody Abram, an obvious football player with a big mouth and no brain, said "Tending to Donovan's _little problem_."

The class laughed and Caroline just rolled her eyes. Turning around in her seat to glare at the big headed boy. "Cody, you really shouldn't be talking about _little_ anything," she said, rolling her eyes. She wasn't the only one who heard the rumor about his _ahem_, little Cody.

The class erupted in laughter and he glared at her, heat rising to his cheeks and she flashed him a smile. "Don't dish it if you can't take it."

"Bitch," he muttered underneath his breath.

She rolled her eyes. That'd been one of her nicknames since middle school. It wasn't exactly something that could be used to insult her. "Ouch."

"Alright, alright," Mr. Tanner said, annoyance leaking into his voice. "That's enough. Miss Forbes, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tend to your 'little problems' when you should be in my class."

"Yes, _sir_," she said, putting extra emphasize on the word sir, just to prove that while the word was respectful, she respected him about as much as a dog that spent its free time sniffing crotches.

He narrowed his eyes but otherwise ignored her smart ass tone. He walked to the board and wrote down a range of page numbers and underneath that, a long list of question numbers. After he wrote down the ridiculously large amount, he turned back to the class and said, "Read these pages and then answer the questions in complete sentences. If you don't finish, its homework. No talking."

After a hour and a half of that torture, the bell finally rang and she happily skipped out of the room, heading off to cheerleading practice. But of course, she had the worst luck ever because who did she literally run into? That's right. You guessed it. Tyler Lockwood. She made an _oomph!_ sound as her chest smacked into his. She wobbled on her heals and the only reason she didn't fall flat on her butt was Tyler's strong hands wrapping around her upper arms and steadying her.

"Careful," he said, still holding onto her arms though she clearly wasn't falling anymore. His hands were hot, like he had a fever.

She yanked her arms out of his. "Thank you," she spat at him, the last week of staring overweighing any chance of gratitude she felt towards him.

He raised an eyebrow and his brown eyes gave her a quizzical look. "What's wrong with you, Forbes?" he asked, looking her over in a way that made her blush and remember that the v neck of her orange dress was a little lower than what dress code stated was okay.

"Look, _Lockwood_," she said, sneering his name, "I don't appreciate all the creepy staring and clearly you're forgetting that I'm your best friend's girlfriend. _Lay off_, okay?"

His eyes narrowed just the smallest amount and he scoffed, as if she was insane. "Deflate that ego of your's," he said and she resisted the urge to gasp at his words. It was like he had quite literally stolen them from her mind. "And _sorry_ for not letting you fall."

She resisted the urge to stomp her foot and stick out her tongue like she use to do to him in kindergarten. Instead, she gave him a glare that could make anyone who was weak cry and crossed her arms over her chest. "You should be," she snapped, raising her chin in a "I am better than you" manner.

"How's this?" he asked, anger seeping into his dark eyes. "The next time I see you start to fall, I'll just let you fall flat on your ass. Sound good?"

"Just perfect!" she exclaimed before making a noise of disgust toward him and starting down the hall.

She seethed all the way down the hall. What a jerk! Did he have some nerve, or what! Here he was, pretending like he hadn't been staring at her for over a week and like everything was fine. Sure, she loved the attention but not this kind of attention. This kind made her feel weird inside. It made her feel itchy and uncomfortably warm. Speaking of warm, the spots where he had held onto her arms were still a few degrees hotter than the rest of her skin.

_Great_, she thought, _he probably has some infectious disease and now I'm going to get it. _

She heard the sound of footsteps behind her and for just a second thought it was Tyler, but turned out to be Bonnie and Elena. She slowed down so they could catch up with her.

"What happened back there?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Elena agreed. "You looked like you were about to rip out Tyler's throat."

Caroline sighed. "I don't know," she admitted. "He's just acting weird lately."

"Well can you blame him?" Elena asked, always the compassionate, understanding one. "A month ago his dad died and then he accidentally killed a girl. He's probably messed up right now."

"He's messed up alright," Caroline grumbled more so to herself than to her friends.

"Not to mention his Uncle Mason is back in town," Bonnie said.

"Why would that be bad?" Elena asked, curiously, turning to the smaller, darker girl.

Bonnie shrugged. "His dad and uncle didn't have the best relationship. They rarely saw each other and from what I've heard, Mason only saw Tyler a few times in his whole life."

Okay, Caroline was so done nurturing Tyler's life long sob story. She had more important things to worry about. Like the fundraiser.

"Have either of you gotten anyone else to sign up for the fundraiser yet?" she asked, praying that they had.

"No," they both said, shaking their heads. Caroline sighed in defeat.

"I already asked Stefan to but he said he really, really didn't want to," Elena said.

Oh, he was going to even if Caroline had to tie him down and bring him there in his bathing suit. Matt would convince him though, so she pushed that thought from her head.

"What about Jeremy?" Caroline asked. Jeremy Gilbert was the poster boy for teenager problems, what with drug use and his black nail polish, but there was no denying the little sophomore was cute. If he would just lose the Goth clothes and stop chasing after Vicki Donovan (yes, Matt's older, much less mature sister), he would probably be just as popular as his sister. Most people cut him a little slack though, because about six months ago Elena and Jeremy's parents died. Elena still wasn't back to her old self, but she was coping better than Jeremy.

"I'll ask," Bonnie said, a little too quickly.

Elena and Caroline both stared at her, a question mark on their face. Caroline was about to ask if someone had a little crush on baby Gilbert, but decided against it. She needed to focus on the problem at hand.

"What about Damon?" Bonnie asked Elena, trying to get the spotlight off of her.

Elena shook her head, her face twisting in disgust. "Hell no," she said, firmly. "I'm not even asking him."

"Please Elena!" Caroline begged- not something she was known for. "Do you know how many girls will come if he's the one washing their cars? Think of all the money we'll raise!"

Damon was Stefan's older brother, who was beyond gorgeous. He had raven black hair, messily styled and these blue eyes that could make anyone melt. But he was also a huge dick and total player. He had tried to get into Caroline's pants more than once, and let's face it, if it hadn't been for Matt, he would have succeed.

"Fine!" she said, not looking happy about it. "I'll ask, but if he says no, I'm not going to try and convince him."

"Fair enough," Caroline said. "What about Jenna?"

Jenna was Jeremy's and Elena's aunt, who became their legal guardian when their parents died. She was still pretty young and more like an older sister than parent figure.

"She'll probably do it."

"Good," Caroline said, her mood improving just the slightest. The whole fundraiser thing would work out and they'd earn tons of money. Just thinking about it brought a smile to her face.

But the smile vanished the moment she saw Tyler walking into the locker room, getting ready for practice.

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><p>After cheerleading practice, she met up with Matt out on the football field, who had also just finished practicing. Thankfully, Tyler was no where in site so she relaxed. Matt jogged over to her, a goofy smile on his face.<p>

"Hey," he said, hugging her. If she hadn't been so sweaty herself, she wouldn't have allowed him to hug her.

"Hey, did you talk to Stefan?" she asked, hopefully.

He nodded. "It took a lot of convincing, but he agreed."

"Good!" she exclaimed.

He nodded and took a long drink of water from his water bottle. "Oh, yeah," he said, "I asked Tyler too. He said he'd do it."

_Oh you've got to be kidding me! _

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><p>Just to clear things up, Caroline is human!<p>

Review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 2

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for all the reviews and positive feedback! It means the world, really. I love reading what you think! It brings a smile to my face. Okay, on the less mushy side, I usually don't update this quickly and I don't think I've ever written a chapter this long before, so don't expect that every chapter): I'll try, but I can't guarantee it. Anyways, enjoy!

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><p>Caroline tossed her keys into the little wicker basket on the end table beside the door when she walked inside. The house was quiet, as it always was, which meant her mom wasn't home, like always. Her mom was the Sheriff of Mystic Falls and even though not that much happened in Mystic Falls- besides the occasional robbery or speeding ticket- her mom was never home. It used to bother Caroline, but as she got older, she got over it. That was who her mom was and she couldn't change it, even if she wanted to. Her mom came home even less when her dad left them for his boyfriend in California. Yes, his boyfriend. Who could blame Caroline for being a little crazy after looking at her family history? She'd more or less raised herself since she was thirteen and living with her mother was a lot like living by herself.<p>

She hitched her duffel bag with all of her cheerleading stuff over her shoulder and headed towards the stairs. They were working on a new routine and it was making Caroline sore as hell. She'd have to take a nice, long bubble bath before bed. After climbing the stairs- which seemed a lot longer than they had this morning- she opened up her bedroom door and threw her bags on the floor. After putting on a comfy pair of Sophie's and one of Matt's old t-shirts, which she had stolen from him, she walked to her bed and flopped down on it, ravishing in the feel of the soft cotton of her comforter on her skin and the comfy mattress of her bed. She grabbed her pink laptop off her nightstand and turned it on.

After spending an hour or so checking email, Facebook, etc., she shut her laptop down and sat it back down on her nightstand where she had found it. She got up and grabbed her book bag, unwilling pulling out the homework Mr. Tanner had assigned the class (which she hadn't finished because she was too wrapped up in obsessing over the fundraiser and Tyler).

She worked on it for about twenty minutes before her phone lit up and buzzed, alerting her of a new text message. She reached for it and looked at her screen before opening it. The screen read Bonnie. She flipped it open and read it.

**Party tonight by Old Fell's Church at 9! Coming? **

Caroline bit her lip. She really was tired and needed to finish this homework, but she really needed a good party to relieve her stress. Having decided, she responded.

**Of course! **

She only had to wait a few seconds for Bonnie's reply.

**Yaaay! Elena and I will pick you up at 9!**

She set her phone back down on her comforter and tried to focus on finishing her homework. Unfortunately, nineteenth century Virginia wasn't nearly interesting enough to hold her attention and keep her mind from wandering to thoughts of Tyler. She really didn't want to think about it- it just gave her a headache- but she couldn't stop. He was like a plague, eating away at the flesh that was her brain and consuming all her thoughts. If it had been anyone else, she would have said they had a crush on her, but come on! This was Tyler Lockwood. Tyler didn't do crushes. He did hook ups and one night stands. He's tried (unsuccessfully) more than once to get into her pants. Tyler Lockwood didn't do crushes, so why the hell was he being so weird?

Maybe it was just the stress of his dad and Sarah's death, and then his Uncle being back in town combined. Maybe he was having some kind of mental break down. Maybe he was suffering from a STD. Who knew?

Shaking her head in an attempt to disperse all thoughts of Tyler, she picked her phone back up and entered Matt's number.

**Hey, are you going to the party tonight?**

She picked her pencil back up and answered three questions before her phone buzzed with a text.

**Yeah. Do you want me to drive you? I'm picking up Tyler so I'll get to your house around 9.**

Oh, no thank you. She was not going to be in an enclosed space with him for any amount of time. She didn't even want to go to the party if he was there. She shook her head. This was getting ridiculous. Caroline Forbes not going to a party with loud music and free beer just to avoid someone? This was getting out of hand. She'd have to talk to- or threaten- Tyler about this.

**No thanks. Bonnie and Elena are picking me up. I'll see you there. **

She threw her phone back on her comforter and picked up her pencil, more determined this time. She spent the next thirty minutes answering questions about Virginia in the Civil War. After finishing it, she put in back in her folder and into her bag. She looked around her room for something to do. It was only 6:30 so she had some time to kill before beginning to get ready.

After a few minutes of staring at nothing in particular, she decided to go and take a shower and then soak in a nice, hot bath. Her lavender scented bath beads would surely relieve her stress. She walked to her bathroom and turned on the water to her shower. As she waited for it to get to the right temperature, she went to the closet and got her towels. She locked he bathroom door just out of habit and began undressing.

The hot water felt amazing on her tense, tired muscles, so she just stood there a few minutes, allowing the water to work out all the knots and tension out. After a few more minutes, she began the cycle of shampooing, rinsing and repeating with her shampoo and conditioner. After standing there for just a few more minutes, she plugged the drain so the tub would begin to fill. When the water was a few inches high, she laid down and closed her eyes, listening to sound of the water like it was music, soothing her to sleep. She used her foot to turn off the water and dropped a few beads into the water, inhaling the scent of lavender.

And then, she closed her eyes and allowed her mind to go completely blank.

_She was in the woods near Old Fell's Church. She was sure of it. Her dad would bring her here when she was a little girl with pigtails still in her hair. He said it was like an adventure without the danger. Elena, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler and she had come all the time in middle school to get away from their parents and chores and responsibilities. And when they got older and a little more curious about things, they'd grab a six pack and go up there. Parties were there all the time. This was the one place Caroline felt safe at, besides her friend's houses and her own._

_But she didn't feel safe now. She didn't feel the comfort she usually felt looking into the woods. The trees surrounding her didn't make her feel safe and comfortable. They felt ominous and threatening, like someone was lurking behind the trees, watching her. The full moon was the only light that she could see and it held no comfort. She felt like she was smack in the middle of a horror movie. Wasn't it always the peppy, cute blonde that died first?_

_Her skin felt hot. It was the feeling she got when someone was watching her. What was she doing in the woods? She couldn't remember going there. She couldn't remember anything. Panic rose inside her and she patted her pockets for her phone. After feeling every place she could possibly stick her cell phone, she found nothing. Fear clenched her chest and constricted her throat. _

Its okay, Caroline_, she thought to herself. _Just walk to the road. You'll be safe there.

_She began walking quickly, ready to get out of the woods and escape the feel of eyes watching her. She made sure she only looked immediately in front of her, so she wouldn't fall and avoided looking to the sides at all costs. She could feel something watching her, and if she saw whatever it was, she would completely freak out and not be able to run. Just keep going. Keep walking. You'll find the road. Keep walking._

_This chant worked for a few minutes, until she heard the rustling of leaves. She froze mid step, one foot a foot in front of the other and her knees slightly bent. She stopped breathing and listened carefully. Maybe, just maybe it had been the wind- though she felt no wind- or an animal. Yeah, that's it. It was a squirrel or better yet, a rabbit. The noise had simply been a small, weak little rabbit hopping around. Having convinced herself, she began breathing again and picked up her pace._

_Not ten seconds later she heard the noise again, but this time, it was louder. Much, much louder. It sounded big, whatever it was and the noise had been too close to a growl for her comfort. She yelped in surprise and began running. There was no convincing herself this was a rabbit. This was big and probably a carnivore, which meant it would eat her without thinking twice about it. Would Mace work on an animal? Oh, it didn't even matter! She'd felt every inch of her body and nothing was in her pockets. No form of self defense was on her. The closest thing she had was a tree branch and a rock, neither of which she was stopping to find. _

_So she ran and ran and ran and prayed to anyone and everyone that would listen to not let her get eaten tonight. She was too young to die and if she was going to die, she would certainly like to know why the hell she had put herself in the position to die in the first place. What insanity had brought her out in the middle of the woods at night? Seriously, blonde or not, she wasn't _that_ stupid. _

_She heard another noise, but this time it was different. It wasn't the soft rustling of leaves that a small animal would make, but it wasn't the loud, ferocious sound of a much, much large animal that could eat her. It was somewhere in between and Caroline ran through the possibilities in her head. A possum? A fox? A really, really big squirrel? Oh god, she couldn't even think straight. The phrase "lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" was running through her head, which wasn't helping her concentrate on not tripping and falling. _

_She was too distracted and it was too dark to see the figure step out in front of her until it was too late and she was a foot away from him or her. She didn't have enough time to stop. She ran flat into the figure- which muscle toned and overall build suggested was a man- and bounced backwards with the impact. Large hands reached out and grasped her arms just as she was about to fall. They pulled her up into standing position. _

_She began screaming, sure she was going to die. The hands were still holding her and she tried her to best to break free. She kicked and jerked and screamed in terror. His hands were too strong though, and she couldn't break free._

"_Caroline!" the man shouted over he screaming. _

_Even in the midst of completely freaking out, she recognized that voice. She knew that voice. She would know that voice anywhere. "T-Tyler?" she asked, her voice small and scared sounding. What was Tyler Lockwood doing out in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night? Though, she wasn't complaining. Sure, they had their differences but if it came to him or a murderer, she'd always choose him. She blinked back the veil of terror that had clouded her vision and looked up into his dark brown eyes. _

"_Its me," he said, sounding a little confused. "Caroline, what are you doing here?"_

_The rush of adrenaline that had kept her on her feet and running for so long suddenly gave way, leaving as quickly as it had came and she sagged, suddenly exhausted. She probably would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed her and held her against him. She couldn't explain the sudden sob that broke free of her lips and echoed out into the night._

"_Hey," he said, squeezing her slightly in a not very Tyler like manner. "Its okay. Calm down. You're okay."_

_Calm down? Calm down! Hello! She had just been chased by some kind of animal hell bent on eating her! She certainly was not okay and she would not calm down. On second thought, freaking out sounded like the better idea. Yeah, it was nice that she wasn't alone anymore but the animal still was around and would eat them both now. While she felt strangely safe in Tyler's arms, she knew that when it came down to it, Tyler was human and just as weak as she was, at least when it came down to being attacked by an animal._

_She pulled back to look at his face. "Tyler!" she said, her voice breaking and rising in odd places. She was still slightly sobbing, which wasn't helping either. "Listen- to me- there's-"_

"_Caroline , I can't understand you," he said. _

"_There's an animal!" she shrieked. "In the woods! I-its chasing me!"_

_His eyes widened in fear and a sick understanding filled his eyes- one that she did not like nor understand. He looked around them, surveying and she didn't tell him it was useless. He wouldn't be able to see but she didn't because he'd figure that out on his own. His eyes seemed to focus on something before he looked back down at her. _

"_Caroline," he said, urgently, "Listen to me!"_

"_I'm listening!"_

"_When I tell you to, run," he said, calmly. He was looking deep, deep into her eyes and she felt like he was looking into her soul or something. She didn't believe in things like that, but in that second, she did. _

"_Why?" she whispered, not able to make her voice any louder._

"_Do you trust me?" he asked, ignoring her question. _

_She didn't know why she did. She didn't understand. She should say no, she didn't trust him. Why should she trust him? It was more than a little suspicious that he was out in the middle of the woods the exact same time she was and he didn't look nearly as scared as he should. She shouldn't trust him._

_But she did._

"_Yes," she said. _

"_Then when I tell you to, run," he repeated. _

_This time, she didn't ask why. She simply nodded, irrationally putting all her faith in the boy standing in front of her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that she wasn't suppose to trust him. She was suppose to hate him even, but she didn't right now. Looking into those oddly comforting chocolate brown eyes, she couldn't find it in herself to do anything but trust him. _

_It felt like days waiting for him to tell her to run. In reality, she knew it was only seconds, but waiting was killing her. So was curiosity. What. Was. Going. _On_?_

_Suddenly, Tyler's arms dropped from her's and she swore she saw fire dance in his eyes. Like actual red flames. She didn't have enough time to freak out about that though, because at that exact second he yelled, "Run!"_

_So she did. She took off and didn't look back. She ran and ran and ran, farther away from Tyler and closer to the unknown. She wanted to look back at him, but resisted the urge. If she did look back, she'd lose her balance and trip, resulting in her face planting the ground. _

_A piercing scream sounded from behind her and she recognized it as Tyler's, but it only lasted a few seconds before it was lost in the sound of a wolf howling._

Oh god its got Tyler! _her mind yelled. She had to go back. She had to go back and help him! No, she wouldn't be able to help him. She would just get hurt too. She needed to find people, who could call for help. Yeah, that's what she had to do!_

_Her legs began feeling heavy and the muscles of her thighs and calves were aching intensely. She was pushing her body past it's limit and she knew she was going to collapse. Her lungs felt full and heavy, making it hard to breath. But she kept running, until finally, her legs gave out from underneath her and she fell to the ground. She held out her hands to brace her fall, but it still hurt hitting the ground. Her hands felt hot and moist, so she knew she was bleeding. _

_She heard heavy footsteps behind her and she knew they didn't belong to a human. Humans didn't have that many feet. She pushed herself over so she could see what it was. She came face to face with amber eyes before the whole world went black._

While she was asleep, Caroline's head had dipped beneath the water and she woke up screaming and coughing. Her vision was dancing with spots of gray and black, and her lungs felt heavy from the water she had swallowed. She rather ungracefully sat up from the water and coughed wildly, choking up all the lavender tasting water she had swallowed. Slowly but surely, the water left her lungs and her vision returned. Breathing heavily, she reached out a shaking hand and grabbed her towels. She gathered her hair on the top of her head and wrapped one around her head and wrapped the other around her trembling body. She unplugged the drain and watched the water slowly disappear in a swirl of cloudy water.

Never in her life had she been in a dream like that. It was so realistic. She thought the dream had been reality and she was really running through the woods and Tyler Lockwood had really been there, telling her to run and an animal was chasing her. She shivered as the sound of Tyler's scream and then the low, ferocious howl of an animal echoed in her head. She could have sworn in was real. She could still see the amber eyes of the animal.

Shaking her head, she unlocked the bathroom door and opened it. All the hot air released and she shivered as the cold air came in contact with her already goose bump covered skin. She glanced at her clock. Great, she wasn't going to have enough time to get ready before Elena and Bonnie came to pick her up.

In a hurry, she went to her closet and picked out a plain blue dress and slipped on her black flip flops. She rushed to her bathroom and began the long process of brushing, drying and curling her hair. When she was finally done with that, she began putting on her makeup, but she could barely put on her eyeliner with stabbing herself. Her hands were still trembling slightly.

The sudden knock on the door caused her to poke herself in the eye and she let out a yelp of pain. Damn it! She sat it down and rushed downstairs to let Bonnie and Elena in. She knew it was them, but she still looked through the little peephole, being paranoid. It was and she unlocked the door.

They walked in.

"Caroline!" Bonnie exclaimed. "What happened to your eye?"

She rubbed her hand over her sore eye and frowned. "Eyeliner accident," she explained.

"Oh," Bonnie said, shrugging and easily accepting her answer, which Caroline was grateful for. She did not feel like explaining why she hadn't been paying extra attention because that would lead to the dream and she really didn't want to talk about it. She really, really just wanted to forget about it.

But of course, Elena sensed that something was wrong. "Care, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Caroline said, putting an extra little amount of pep in her voice. "Why?"

"I don't know," Elena said, not looking convinced. "You just look a little… spooked."

Uh, spooked wasn't the word for how Caroline was feeling at the moment. It was more like terrified or freaked or just plain scared. That worked too. "Nope," she said. "I'm all good."

"Okay," Elena said, accepting her answer but still looking a little worried.

"I'll be done in like five minutes if you want to stay down here," Caroline said.

They both agreed and headed off to her living room. Caroline ran back upstairs and finished up with her make up, being much more careful this time. After she was done with that, she checked herself in the mirror to make sure she looked okay, went into her closet, grabbed her black leather jacket and went back downstairs.

"Ready," she announced, a smile on her face. She pushed aside all thoughts of the dream and Tyler and vowed that she was going to have fun tonight even if it killed her.

Okay, well she wouldn't go _that_ far.

They arrived around 9:30 due to Caroline's makeup incident and the party was in full swing. She recognized tons of people from school and a few that she didn't recognize. Caroline heard The All-American Reject's "Dirty Little Secret" blasting from as unseen source and people were dancing. The beer was already out and a few people were already drunk. They stumbled around in a drunken stupor and overall making fools out of themselves.

Caroline shook her head and rolled her eyes. Light weights. She just hoped someone didn't fall and bust open their heads or some idiot didn't try and walk into the fire or something. Today had already been crappy enough. She did not want to have to explain to her mom why she was out at 9:30 on a school night, drinking. Her mom knew Caroline wasn't a perfect little angel, but knowing that and seeing that were two completely different things.

"Caroline!" she heard a familiar voice call.

She turned around, sporting a wide smile, just in time to see Matt and Stefan walking up to the three girls before he wrapped his arms around her tightly. She squeezed him back and took the beer he handed her after pulling back. She took it gratefully (she needed more than a beer after this god awful day) and Matt slung his arm around her shoulder.

Stefan handed both Bonnie and Elena a beer, and kissed Elena on the cheek. Ugh. Stefan was like this perfect gentlemen and while it was sweet, it also graded on Caroline's nerves. He was just too… perfect. She understood how Damon and Stefan didn't get along all that well. Stefan was Dr. Jekyll and Damon was Mr. Hyde.

"How long have you guys been here?" Matt asked, taking a swig of his beer.

Caroline took a long, long swig of her beer, letting someone else answer that question. She said she was having fun tonight. This was how she planned on doing it.

"Just a few minutes," Elena said. "Hey, have you seen Jeremy?"

"Uh, yeah," Matt said, looking a little uncomfortable. He looked down at the ground and scuffed his shoes against the dirt. "I saw him with Vicki like ten minutes ago."

Elena frowned and Matt continued to look down at the dirt. Vicki Donovan was not exactly the most respectful girl attending Mystic Falls High. Okay, that was an understatement. She was kind of known as the school slut. It was no secret that Vicki got around and-it of course could just be wicked rumors- Caroline had heard more than once that she traded sex for drugs. She was into all kinds of crazy stuff Caroline wouldn't poke with a ten foot pole, with gloves on. Vicki was a year older than Matt, but Matt was constantly taking care of Vicki. He was like her parent. Caroline had tried to befriend the girl when she and Matt had first started dating three months back, but found it a lost cause. She knew Matt was hoping that maybe if Vicki started hanging out with her, Caroline's personality would rub off on her. Yeah, she was a little bitchy but she was proud to say that she didn't do drugs, nor did she sleep around. Actually, she'd only had sex a handful of times and it had been with Matt. Anyways, Caroline found it hard to get along with Vicki. Vicki was more troubled than she looked on the surface, and honestly, Caroline wasn't a miracle worker and that girl needed some _serious_ therapy.

Jeremy had been chasing after her for the last few weeks and Caroline knew Elena was praying it was just a teenage crush on Jeremy's part. Caroline doubted that though. Vicki and drugs were kind of a package deal as far as Caroline saw it.

"I think I'm going to go get another beer," Bonnie said. "Anyone want one?"

Matt, Elena and Stefan all shook their head, but another beer sounded just perfect to Caroline. "Sure," she said. "I'll come."

They walked off to where the beers were and Bonnie was wearing a pinched expression.

"What's wrong with you?" Caroline asked, though she already knew. Or well, _thought_ she knew.

Bonnie bit her lip and glanced at her. "Do you think Jeremy actually likes Vicki or just wants drugs?"

Caroline-being the great friend and actress she was- didn't allow her jaw to drop down to her feet. Okay, it was obvious that Bonnie was crushing on Jeremy, but Caroline didn't think she was actually serious.

"Bonnie Bennett," Caroline said, smiling, "Are you crushing on baby Gilbert?"

"He's not a baby," Bonnie said, obviously avoiding the question. "He's like fifteen."

"He acts like one," Caroline said.

Bonnie's face dropped a little and Caroline felt somewhat bad. She bumped her friend on the shoulder and gave her a small smile. "Hey, the whole Goth, emo look works for some guys," she said, an attempt at humor.

It worked. Bonnie laughed and rolled her eyes. "No, it really doesn't," she said, shaking her brown curls. "I always thought Jeremy was cute. I still think he's cute now because I remember how cute he use to be when he didn't dress like a Goth."

Caroline nodded understandingly. "You totally like him."

"Maybe just a little," Bonnie said.

"Hey, whatever floats your boat," Caroline said. "And as for Vicki… I don't think you need to worry about that. The girl isn't exactly known for long, successful relationships."

"That she is not," Bonnie agreed.

"And if it does turn into something, we can always report her for statuary rape," Caroline joked. "He's a minor."

"True!"

They arrived at the fold up table where the beers were. Bonnie and Caroline both grabbed one and tossed their empty one in the trash. As Caroline turned around and began walking, she bumped into someone.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Sorry!"

She then noticed who it was. Seriously, what was with this guy? Was he like stalking her or something?

"Don't look at me like that," Tyler said, rolling his eyes. "You're the one who bumped into me."

"Maybe you should have paid better attention," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"Maybe _you _should have paid better attention," he said.

She huffed and almost stomped her foot. Damn it! He was driving her insane! Not to mention, she was still freaked out by the whole dream thing and if she was being honest, she really wanted to resolve this whole conflict and go back to their easy "I've known you since birth and you're my boyfriend's best friend" relationship rather than their "You're creepy staring and my dreaming about you is starting to scare me" relationship.

Bonnie was watching them, her eyebrow raised in confusion.

Swallowing her anger, Caroline said, "Tyler, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Look," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "If you're just going to yell at me some more, I think I'll pass."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to yell. I just want to talk."

He looked her over for a few seconds and she was already about to take back to whole "just talking, no yelling thing" but he nodded and said, "Fine, but if you start yelling, I'm bailing."

She nodded and turned to Bonnie. "Tell Matt I'll just be a few minutes?"

She nodded and began walking back to where their friends were standing. Caroline began walking towards the woods (shivering slightly, her mind going back to the dream) and she heard Tyler's footsteps close behind her. She stopped when she knew people wouldn't be able to hear what they were talking about, but still would be able to see them.

"Alright," he said as she turned around to face him. "What do you want to talk about?"

She contemplated how to approach this. She could yell (even though she said she wouldn't) and demand to know what was going on, or she could approach it more carefully, calmly. The latter would probably get more information out of him so she decided to go with that one.

"Look, Tyler," she said, "What's going on with you lately?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, though she would swear on her life she saw something very close to nervousness flash through his eyes.

"I mean, you've just been acting weird lately," she said. "And I know you've kind of been going through some things lately…"

"Look, Caroline-" he cut off suddenly, cocking his head to the side like he was listening to something. She listened too but all she heard was music and talking.

"Ty-?"

He raised a finger to his lip and shushed her.

_Um, excuse me? _

She waited a few more seconds. "Tyler what is-"

"I'll be right back," he said and began jogging into the woods.

She stared at him in disbelief. Here she was, trying to see what was wrong with him and he just runs off into the woods, being all cryptic and weird. Fine, whatever. Screw him. Caroline began walking back to her friends, all the while seething. The nerve of some people….

"Whoa, Caroline," Matt said, "You look pissed."

"I'm fine," she snapped. She instantly felt bad. It wasn't Matt she was pissed at. "Sorry, Matt, I-"

A high, girly scream cut her off and they all turned to where it had sounded. More screams sounded before they saw the cause of the panic.

Tyler was stepping out of the woods, half carrying, half dragging on unconscious Cody Abrams. Cody was completely covered in blood. It had soaked completely through his white t-shirt and was dripping off of him. Tyler's shirt was covered in blood also and little trickles were rolling down his arm. From the amount of blood, Caroline wondered if he was dead and not unconscious after all.

"Somebody call 911!" Tyler yelled.

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><p>Dun…dun…dun.<p>

I probably could have made this into two chapters but… oh well, whatever.

Review(;


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 3

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

**Author's Note:** Again, thank you for all the reviews! Some of you are just too smart for your own good and are totally catching onto my plan. So this chapter has actual Tyler-Caroline interaction! Enjooooooy!

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><p>"I've got it! I'm calling!" someone yelled, mere seconds after Tyler stepped out of the woods, carrying a more than hurt Cody Abrams. It was a scene straight out of a horror movie. Never had Caroline ever seen so much blood come from one person outside of a TV show or movie. How did people even hold that much blood inside them? It seemed impossible that that much liquid could be held in one person without them bursting from the fullness and pressure.<p>

Tyler carried Cody to the picnic table and laid him down on it. Caroline gaped at his strength. Cody was in no way a little guy. His muscles were almost as impressive as Tyler's and Caroline knew he had to be heavy. Maybe Tyler was having some kind of adrenaline rush. The same adrenaline rush that allowed mother's to pick up cars off their kids. She'd heard that somewhere.

She felt like this wasn't really happening. Like she was in one of those dreams that felt so impossibly real, and then seconds before you wake up you realize that it was in fact a dream and in that second everything changes. A dream of love suddenly doesn't feel so warm and happy anymore and a dream of horror is no longer scary. The pulsing fear that had been inside you, eating you and holding you in a paralyzing grip suddenly was gone, replaced with amusement and curiosity, because after all, dreams can't hurt you. Dreams were just projections of your subconscious. They were random and uncontrollable and _not real_. She was waiting for that moment where her mind said, "Okay! This is all just a dream! Wake up now, sleepy head!" But the moment wasn't coming. It was just like the dream she had earlier, only this time, it was reality.

"Someone get me a blanket or something!" Tyler yelled, frantically looking around for something to press against Cody to stop the bleeding. Caroline couldn't even tell where the wound was. There was too much blood. It was everywhere.

She was completely frozen. Who could have done something like that to him? _What_ could have done something like that? Was there someone out in the woods, insane and blood thirsty, or was it something else? What else could it even be? Questions floated through her head and she didn't have enough time to think about one before another one popped up.

"Here! I've got a blanket!" Stefan yelled, suddenly holding a blanket in his hands. He must have grabbed it off of a tree or something. It was early October and it was starting to get a little cold- especially at night- so some people would bring out blankets for parties and hang them on a certain tree, so they'd know where it was when it was needed. He ran to Tyler and handed it to him. Tyler balled up the blanket and pressed it against Cody's chest. The sound of Stefan's voice unfroze her and she began running toward them as everyone else seemed to be backing away.

"I need something else!" Tyler yelled and as Caroline got closer, she saw a gash on the side of Cody's neck, which blood was pouring from in what looked to be like gallons. Of course, it wasn't because he would be dead but it still looked like it. The gash wasn't on the side of his neck with his jugular, which surprised her. That much blood was pouring out of him and his jugular wasn't even cut?

With an almost audible click, Caroline's mind entered back into her head and adrenaline began pumping in her veins. "Someone give me their jacket!" she yelled. Her jacket was leather and she didn't think that would do the trick.

Someone handed her a thick, cotton jacket and she pressed it to Cody's neck, surprising herself. Who knew she would be the one that would try to save someone's life? Certainly not her. She always thought she would be the person that watched, frozen in terror while someone else saved the person's life.

"They're on their way," a blonde headed, short girl said, cell phone still in hand. Her eyes were wide as golf balls as she took in the scene in front of her.

People in Mystic Falls (or most other places outside of war zones) didn't see things like this everyday. Things like this just didn't happen. Mystic Falls was small and happy and safe. It wasn't a war zone where brutally ravished bodies were as common as crickets in the middle of the night or lighting bugs at the first signs of dusk.

"I don't think he's going to make it," Stefan said, looking Cody from top to bottom. "He's losing too much blood."

"Don't say that!" Caroline said, her voice going up an octave with distress. She pushed the jacket a little more against his neck. Cody was not going to die. He wasn't. He couldn't just die! Just a few hours ago they were going at it in Mr. Tanner's class. He couldn't be here one minute and just leave the next! A voice in her head told her, that yeah, he actually could but she silenced it. No, Cody was _not_ going to die.

"What the hell happened out there Tyler?" Stefan asked, looking at the blood covered boy.

Tyler was still looking down at Cody so she couldn't see what his exact facial expression was. She thought she saw fear, which was understandable- she was terrified-, but she couldn't tell for sure. Tyler had never been one for sharing emotions, but she thought this was an exception to that whole macho, pride mask he put on.

"I don't know," Tyler said, shaking his head slightly. "I went out in the woods and found him like this."

"Why did you go out into the woods?" Caroline asked, remembering how he had cocked his head to the side like he had heard something. Was it possible that he had heard something? Something that could have alerted him? It would be a reasonable explanation but she hadn't heard anything and she had been standing two feet away from him. How had he heard something and she hadn't?

"I heard screaming," Tyler said, confirming her suspicion.

Caroline looked up at him, her eyes wide. They widened even more when she saw that he was staring right back at her. They stayed like that for what felt like a long time, her blue eyes boring into his brown ones. She didn't know exactly how long it was (probably just a few minutes) but not once did their staring break as they desperately tried to save their classmate's life. And even in the middle of all this chaos, Caroline knew one thing. And that was something was seriously up with Tyler Lockwood and she was going to find out, no matter what.

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><p>Cody was alive. At least, he had been when they put him into the ambulance. EMS had arrived just a few minutes after they had been called and as soon as they saw Cody, they started talking in technical words and short phrases that made no sense to her, but she guessed it was some kind of EMS language, purposely shortened so that they spent less time talking and more time saving people's lives. They had instantly told them to back away and they took over. They put an oxygen mask over his mouth and began doing things so quickly Caroline couldn't even keep up, let alone understand. And then they had him strapped to a gurney and were putting him into the ambulance.<p>

A lot of people had bailed as soon as they saw Cody, scared or freaked or something, and even more people bailed when 911 was called. If 911 was called, that meant the fire station, police department and the hospital were alerted. It was no secret there was alcohol and Caroline assumed no one wanted to get busted for underage drinking. That made her fume. It was like, hello! Someone is dying- someone you know - and you're worried about getting in trouble for drinking? Her mom was the _Sheriff_ and she wasn't leaving.

She was sitting down at a table with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. An EMS woman had given one to her, Tyler and Stefan. She told them that they had kept Cody alive long enough for them to try and save him. She disappeared then and Caroline hadn't seen her since.

There were a quite a few cop cars- one being her mom's- and an ambulance. God only knows who else had been out in the woods that night and because this wasn't a formal party where people signed their names upon entering, there was no way telling who just went home and who was out in the woods, if anyone. That thought scared her. Was there someone else out in the woods, bleeding and dying? Unable to call out for help?

The twenty or thirty kids who had stuck around instead of leaving were told to stay here for questioning. They were all gathered near the remains of the church and there were police officers everywhere, surrounding them. The flashing of blue and red lights felt more intimidating than comforting, and she couldn't help but feel scared. Whoever or whatever had done that to Cody was still out in the woods, roaming free.

That thought made Caroline shiver again.

"Are you cold?" someone asked.

She jumped and turned to see Tyler sitting down beside her. She couldn't muster up enough energy to be annoyed by his presence or any other emotion for that matter. She felt kind of numb, like she was in shock or something. All the adrenaline she had had just a few minutes ago was completely gone and she felt like she would fall over if it wasn't for the fact that she was sitting down.

"No," she said, shaking her head and ignoring the blood that was still on Tyler. Tyler had taken off his blood soaked shirt when the EMS woman handed him a blanket, but there was still a thin layer of blood coating his arms and legs and chests. There weren't enough wet naps in all of Mystic Falls to effectively get off all that blood. "Just… I don't know."

"Yeah," he said, looking down at his hands in disgust. "Me too."

"What the hell could have even done that?" Caroline asked, intensely.

"I don't know," Tyler said, his eyebrows knitting together over his dark brown eyes.

"Do you think it was a person?"

He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut. "Maybe," he said, running a hand over his short hair.

"But that was brutal. His chest and neck were torn to hell. What kind of person would do that?" Caroline asked, desperately wanting to believe that it hadn't been a person and it had been an animal. It was scary to think that a person could be capable of something like that. The world somehow seemed a shade darker. If a human being was capable of doing that to another human being… she shuddered delicately.

"I don't know, Care," Tyler said, opening his eyes. They were too calm. She wondered if he was just as numb as she was.

"Are you okay?" she asked, feeling a bit awkward. Tyler wasn't one to talk about feelings and she wasn't either, not really. Not with people she wasn't very, very close to.

He looked down at the ground and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Because its okay not to be," she said, feeling herself blush. Good god she never thought she'd be having this kind of conversation with Tyler Lockwood. Then again, she never thought she'd see Cody with his skin ripped and half dead. "Because that was… scary."

"Yeah."

"Do you think that he's going to be okay?" Caroline whispered. She wasn't sure if he would be able to hear her, but she couldn't make her voice any louder.

"I'm not sure," he said, looking up at her. This time was different though. It didn't have so much… oh, what was the word she as looking for? Not passion, exactly. More like… heat. Yeah, heat, that's the word. This time when he looked her over, there wasn't so much heat behind it. It was more so curiosity, like she was someone strange and mysterious and not the girl he'd known his entire life. _Why are you looking at me like that? _She wanted to yell, but didn't. She'd known Tyler long enough to know that he wasn't someone who just laid everything out on the table. He kept things in.

So instead of yelling and demanding to know what was going on with him and causing a huge scene, she simply looked down at her lap and tried not to seem as curious as she felt. "What's going on with you, Ty?" she asked, using his nickname in the vain hope that if he heard it he'd feel more comfortable; therefore, he would tell her more than he would if he didn't feel comfortable.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Something about the way he said it, and how he averted his eyes made her think he knew exactly what she meant.

"You _know_ what I mean, Tyler," she said, firmly, though not bitchy. _That_ certainly wouldn't get her anywhere.

"No I don't," he said, an edge of defensiveness in his voice.

"Look," she said, taking a deep breath to keep from yelling at him. "I know that you've been having a rough time lately and you're-"

"Look, Caroline," he said, "I've always been fucked up. You know that better than anymore. The last months… its just been icing on the cake."

That wasn't entirely true. When they were in kindergarten Tyler had thrown a frog on Caroline and told her to eat it. She replied by jumping up, smacking him right across the face and stomping away with Elena and Bonnie by her side, their five year old arms crossed across their five year old chests. And there were so many other pranks he had pulled, but still, that wasn't what she meant. So yes, the pranks sucked but he was just being a dick when he did that stuff.

She shook her head. "Its more than that, Ty. You're _different_. And I can't figure out what it is."

"Why do you care?" he asked, not exactly irritated but not just simply curious either.

She stared at him, tongue tied. Not once had she thought about it. Why did she care exactly? It wasn't like they were best friends. They were hardly friends at all. She could say it was because she cared about people, but that wasn't the full truth. Sure, she cared about her friends, but like she had just stated, she and Tyler weren't really friends. Maybe it was just because she was nosy. She had no idea why she cared so much, but she _did. _

She was saved from having to respond because she saw Matt walking up to them from the corner of her eyes. She broke her staring with Tyler and tried to compose her face by the time Matt approached them.

"Hey," he said, quietly.

"Hey," she said, her voice breaking. Tyler simply nodded, acknowledging his presence before standing up and walking away, not saying a word and not looking back.

Matt and Caroline both watched him go. "He okay?" Matt asked, sitting down beside her.

"I don't think so," she said, honestly, "But Tyler is Tyler and he'll never admit it." A thought occurred to her and she could have smacked herself in her head for not thinking of it sooner. "Maybe you should talk to him," she said. "I mean, he is your best friend."

Matt looked hesitant. "I could try, but like you said, Tyler is Tyler and he isn't the kind of person who will spill his guts."

She sighed. That was true.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close into the crook of his side. It didn't feel as warm and comforting as it usually did, but she'd freak out about that later. "Are _you_ okay?" he asked, squeezing her slightly.

"I don't know," she said.

"Look, Care… I'm sorry."

She looked up. His face looked guilty. "For what?" she asked, confused.

"When Tyler came out carrying Cody… I froze," he admitted, looking ashamed. "I didn't try to help or anything."

"So? Everyone was scared, Matt. That's not something to apologize for."

"I know," he said, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "Its just that, I should have helped you, Stefan and Tyler instead of watching."

She sighed and leaned her head against his chest. "You didn't leave. That's enough."

He didn't say anything, so they sat like that: his arms wrapped around her, her head against his chest in the silence. It seemed like a very long time before a short, stocky cop with a buzz cut and beady eyes came up to them.

"Miss Forbes?" he asked, his voice deep.

"Yeah?"

"I need to ask a few question if you don't mind," he said, in a very "I'm only saying that so you feel more comfortable" more so than a "If you don't want to, I understand" kind of way.

"Yeah, okay," she said, and untangled herself from Matt. She wrapped the blanket more tightly around her shoulders and followed the man. When they were a few yards away from everyone else, he stopped and turned toward her.

"Would you please tell me everything that happened," he said, notebook out and pen poised. It was something straight out of the movies.

"Everyone was just hanging out when Tyler came out of the woods half carrying, half dragging Cody Abram, who was unconscious and covered in blood. He laid him down on the picnic table and then we tried to stop the bleeding."

"And why was Tyler in the woods?" he asked, not looking up from the notebook.

"He said he heard screaming," she said, "But you'd have to talk to him to get those details."

"And you were with him with he heard Cody screaming?"

"Yes."

"Did you hear him screaming too?" he asked, looking up at her.

"No," she said.

"But you were with Tyler when he claimed he heard it?"

She stared at him. It was easy to see where he was going. He was trying to say that Tyler had been lying. It was weird that she hadn't heard Cody screaming like Tyler had when they were together, but that didn't mean Tyler was lying per se. "Yeah, but I wasn't really paying attention to anything but Tyler," she said, defending him. Tyler hadn't done anything to Cody. That wasn't him.

"And why were you two together?

Now she was just plain confused. Where was he going with this? "We were… talking." She really didn't want to explain the creepy staring to this guy. That was between her and Tyler. Not her, Tyler and the police department.

He raised an eyebrow, hearing her hesitation. "About what?"

She resisted the urge to scoff at him. This was so not his business and it had nothing to do with Cody getting attacked! "Stupid teenage stuff," she said. "I thought he was flirting with me and I wanted to clear it up because I'm his best friend's girlfriend." Okay, so that wasn't one hundred percent true but she had a feeling that if she told this man the truth, he'd take it in a different way and suspect Tyler of something. She didn't want Tyler to get into trouble, and especially not because of her.

"Were you two arguing?"

"No, we were just talking."

"Did he get angry at your accusations?"

"No," Caroline said. "I never got around to the accusing."

"And why is that?"

_Oh, good grief! _"Because that's when he heard Cody screaming, so he left and went into the woods."

"Miss Forbes, does Mr. Lockwood have a temper?"

She hesitated. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want to push Tyler in a hole. "Kind of," she said, slowly. "But I don't know anyone who doesn't."

"Does he have a history of violence?"

Damn it. "Yes," she said, honestly, "The occasional fights ands arguments, but-" She paused and looked at his name badge "-look, Officer Baker, Tyler isn't a bad person. He's hot tempered but he would never actually hurt someone."

"You said he got into fights," he pointed out. "Fighting hurts people."

"Yeah, but he'd never do something to anyone like what happened to Cody," she said, firmly.

"I never accused Tyler of attacking Cody."

Unbelievable. Un-freaking-believable. "Not directly," she argued. "But your questions seem to be pointing that way."

"Miss Forbes, I'm just trying to get the full story," he said.

"Well, you have it," she snapped. "Tyler and I were talking, Tyler left because he heard screaming, a minute or two later, he came out of two woods with Cody. He laid him on the table and we tried to stop the bleeding. That's it."

He wrote something down but didn't acknowledge her. Instead he asked, "Is there anyone you know of that has a specific problem with Cody? A grudge, or some reason why they would want to hurt him?"

She swallowed. That meant whatever had attacked Cody was a person, right? Why else would he ask a question like that? "A lot of people don't like Cody," Caroline said. "He's hard to get along with."

"Do you get along with him?"

She shook her head. "No."

"But you can't think of one person that has a problem with him more so than anyone else?

She thought about that for a few seconds. She wasn't lying when she said a lot of people didn't like Cody, but it wasn't like he had ever done anything really, really, death worthy to someone. He was mostly just an obnoxious jerk. "No," she said, shaking her head.

"I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to be one hundred percent honest," he said, looking at her seriously.

"Okay," she said.

"Was there alcohol here?" he asked, though from the sound of his voice she assumed he already knew the answer to that. No point in lying.

"Yes."

"Do you think Cody was drinking?"

"Probably," she said. "Cody loves partying."

He scribbled that down and closed his notebook. "I think that's all, Miss Forbes. Thank you for your cooperation."

He began walking away but she said, "Wait!"

He turned to look at her and she took a step forward. "Was it a person that did that to Cody?" she asked, swallowing.

He cocked his head to the side. "What else could it be Miss Forbes?"

"An animal maybe," she said. "I saw Cody up close and it looked more like an animal attack."

"Thank you for your time, but I can't share details of the investigation," he said, and with that, he was gone.

* * *

><p>An hour later she finally arrived at home. Not too long after being questioned, her mom told her to get in the car and she was taking her home. She argued that Elena and Bonnie could give her a ride, but she said no. So she got into the police car and listened to her mom lecture her about underage drinking and responsibility. She ignored her and instead looked at the window, watching the trees and buildings pass by in a blur of color.<p>

She opened up the door and gathered all of her things before slamming the door and heading up to the front door. She fumbled in her purse for her keys and finally found them. She unlocked the door and stomped inside, just wanting to go stairs and take a shower.

"Caroline, wait," Liz said from the doorway. She planned on going back to the scene as soon as she dropped Caroline off so she wasn't coming in.

"What?" she asked, tiredly. She was already half way up the stairs and she contemplated running up the stairs, not wanting to listen anymore. She didn't though.

"I'm glad your okay," she said, surprising Caroline. "And I'm proud of you for helping save that boy's life, even if I'm not happy about the circumstances."

Caroline stared at her in disbelief. Her mom didn't say things like that to her. Caroline had always gotten the impression that her mom was kind of disappointed with her. Caroline was bubbling and girly, which Liz wasn't. She didn't understand Caroline's love of clothes and boys and cheerleading.

"Thanks, Mom," Caroline said, giving her a weak smile. It was all she could do.

Liz nodded before disappearing out the door.

Caroline stared at the door for a few seconds, a lump forming in her throat. She turned and walked up the stairs before the first tear fell.

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><p>Hope you liked it. Don't forget to review!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 4

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

**Author's Note:** So was last night's episode amazing or was it amazing? And did Tyler look even more heartbreakingly sexy than he usually does, or was it just me? *sigh* I loved the tomb moment with Tyler and Caroline. It totally made my day(: Well, the new events of VD have planted so many new twists for this story in my head, that I have no idea which to do): The possibilities are endless! Life would be so much easier if I didn't have to sleep.

* * *

><p>School the next day was horrible. There was this sad, morbid, scary blanket of air in the atmosphere and it was so thick Caroline felt like she was choking on it. Everyone was worried sick for Cody, who was in critical condition but still alive, and scared for their own lives. Nothing official had been released yet about exactly how Cody was attacked or by what, but everyone was making assumptions, all of which were equally frightening. One theory, the one that she agreed with most, was that an animal had attacked him. He had been drunk so he wouldn't of been able to fight back as well as he would of if he had been sober. Those people thought that maybe it had been a bear or a wolf, though a wolf was more likely. A bear left behind a lot less than a wolf. The second theory was that there was a killer loose in Mystic Falls. Cody was just his first, random victim. The third theory scared her so much more than the first two. The third theory was that someone here in Mystic Falls had a grudge against Cody and tried to kill him. It was so scary because Caroline felt herself watching people all day, in her mind thinking, "Has Cody ever done anything to you?"<p>

What was even worse was she was being treated like a hero. She didn't feel like a hero at all. She felt like a small, fragile, scared little girl who just wanted to hide underneath her covers from the big bad monsters. She, Stefan and Tyler all day had been getting attention, praise from teachers (who seemed to overlook the fact that they had been at a party drinking) about how brave they were and students saying they're so glad they stepped up and helped save his life. Tyler was getting it the most because he was the one who had actually gotten Cody out of the woods and carried him to safety. Caroline saw how uncomfortable the attention made Tyler and she just wanted to scream at everyone to leave them all alone.

On the up side, the weather was thankfully cooperating so the car wash was still scheduled for Saturday. It was unseasonably warm for October, at least during the day when the sun was shining and for that she was grateful. Maybe they'd all die from Global Warming in a few years, but at least she could look back and think, "Hey, at least we raised enough money to buy new books for the school." Yeah, right. Even her own jokes weren't amusing her today. Tiki was not being her normal, bitching, demanding self and instead was actually helping instead of complaining. Stefan had gotten Damon to agree with promises that their would be tons of girls there to hit on, as long as he stayed in the reasonable ages. That meant no hitting on the freshman because he would probably go to jail. Everything for that was falling into place, but she was miserable.

She dreamed about Tyler again last night. It was a lot like the first dream, only this time, she wasn't really in it. It was like she was there watching everything that was happening, but she wasn't able to interact with anyone or really do anything. It was like only her mind was there and her body was somewhere else. She was still in the woods, wandering around when she saw Tyler. He was just walking silently. His hands were in his pockets and he was looking down at the ground at nothing in particular, at least not that she saw. And then something changed. He looked up at the sky and a worried expression came on his face. He looked around before picking up his pace. He steadily got quicker until he was running, all the while looking up at the night sky. And then she woke up.

The whole situation was scaring the hell out of her. And the worst part was she didn't know who to talk to. She supposed she could talk to Bonnie or Elena about it, but they would probably think she finally lost it. She sure as hell wasn't talking to Matt about_. Look, I'm starting to have really, really weird dreams about your best friend and I'm totally starting to get freaked out. _No, she wasn't going to do that. She didn't feel comfortable talking to her mom about it and she barely talked to her dad. Why would she call him just for this? Who she really wanted to talk to was Tyler, but that would be extremely weird and awkward. _Hey, Ty, I just wanted to talk to you. I've been having these weird dreams about you and I'm beginning to suspect you of dream stalking me. Please stop? _Yeah, that one would go over well. He'd probably accuse her of being crazy, because hello, you can't dream stalk people.

Caroline felt gray hairs grow amidst the curly blonde and she was sure she would have wrinkles by the end of the day. Shaking her head, she trudged off to lunch, wishing this freaking day was over so she could go home and sleep. These dreams were draining and they left her feeling exhausted and not satisfied. If she could just survive two more blocks, she'd be okay. And one was study hall so she could just sit there, doing nothing or homework.

She had no appetite for the greasy, unhealthy, fat inducing food sold in Mystic Falls High School's cafeteria or any other food for that matter, so she went directly outside to the table she usually sat at when it was still warm enough to eat outside. Matt, Stefan and Tyler had a different lunch because they had Advanced P.E. (gross) so it was always herself, Bonnie and Elena at lunch. People would occasionally join them but Caroline would make sure it was just the three of them. Despite her discomfort with the whole situation, she might just tell them after all. They were her best friends and she knew that if anyone would believe the weirdness about the situation, it would be them.

She spotted them as soon as she stepped outside of the door. They were sitting down at the picnic table, untouched food in front of them. Their heads were bent close together and they seemed to be absorbed in a serious conversation. Bonnie looked almost frightened and Elena looked like she was comforting her. What was going on?

"Hey," Caroline said, her eyebrows raised as she sat down, folding her dress underneath her butt as to not flash anyone. She did _not_ feel like having to hear people talk about the fact that she wore pink polka dotted panties.

They jumped, not having noticed her approached and quickly pulled away from each other.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked, a bad feeling forming in the pit of her stomach.

They exchanged a look and Bonnie nodded.

"Bonnie's freaking out," Elena explained and both girls glanced at the small, dark girl. And she did look freaked out. She had dark circles underneath her eyes and looked like she had seen a ghost.

Caroline raised an eyebrow and Bonnie nodded. "I'm freaking out," she confirmed.

"Why?" Caroline asked, already knowing she didn't want to know the answer.

Bonnie bit her lip, looking shy all the sudden, like she was afraid Caroline would laugh at her or something. She was almost insulted, before she remembered that she did do that sometimes, even though she wasn't trying to be mean. But Caroline was just as freaked out, whether they were freaked out about the same thing she didn't know. Either way, she'd be a little more understanding than she usually was.

"Okay, so last night," Bonnie began, "when we were at the party… I- I felt something."

Caroline stared at her, uncomprehendingly. "Felt what?"

"I don't know how to explain it, Care," Bonnie said, brown eyes wide. "It was like… do you know that feeling you get when you're in the movie theater's watching a scary movie?"

Caroline nodded. She hated scary movie. Hated. Them. Her idea of a fun Friday/Saturday night was not getting ready for an hour to pay ten dollars to sit in a crowded movie theater watching a group of people get picked off one by one in equally fucked up, gruesome ways. And usually the cute, perky blonde died first. Not to mention while you sit there watching it, you feel like you're choking because you just know something bad is going to happen. Maybe that was the feeling she was talking about?

"It was like that," Bonnie said, rubbing her arms where goose bumps were forming, even though it was warm outside. "I know it sound crazy! Believe me, I do! But I felt it right after you and Tyler left to go talk about whatever you guys were talking about!"

"Wait, you and Tyler?" Elena asked, her dark brown eyebrows knitting together over he equally dark eyes in confusion. If Caroline wasn't so freaked out she would have rolled her eyes. She was probably too engrossed in making out with Stefan to notice that Caroline went off with Tyler. "You and Tyler were together last night?"

"For like five minutes," Caroline said, quietly. Yeah, that's all she needed. Having some gossip crazed punk overhear Elena saying that she and Tyler were together last night. The words were harmless but this was high school and being together with someone at night does not mean being together with someone. It would easily be misinterpreted as sex, which certainly did _not_ happen.

"What were you two talking about?" Elena asked, momentarily forgetting Bonnie's weird "feeling" about last night with the news that Caroline had willingly talked to Tyler.

Caroline hesitated just for a second. Elena and Bonnie watched her closely, faces open and concerned. "Okay," Caroline said, leaning forward a little bit. "Ever since the Masquerade Ball, Tyler has been… like, _looking_ at me."

They both stared at her, uncomprehendingly and Caroline almost said "never mind" but then Elena raised an eyebrow and Bonnie's eyebrows furrowed. "Like… 'I want to rip off your clothes' staring or 'I'm watching you change through your window at night' staring?" Elena asked.

Caroline shook her blonde curls, eyebrows furrowed. "Definitely not the second one," she said. "Maybe a little bit of the first? Its like this heated gaze. Its like he's _reading_ me or something."

"Maybe he has a crush on you?" Bonnie said, it coming out more of a question than a statement.

Before Caroline could respond, Elena shook her head and said, "No. I don't think that's it."

"Then what could it be?" Bonnie asked and Caroline listened too, just as curious.

"Maybe," Elena said, drawing out the word and her eyebrows furrowing in deep thought. "Maybe he trusts you."

Caroline and Bonnie both stared at her blankly, confused. Why would him trusting her have anything to do with him staring at her? "I don't get it," Caroline said and Bonnie nodded in agreement, throwing in a, "Yeah me either."

"Well, he's obviously going through some things and we all know that he's not close with his mom," Elena pointed it. This was true. Tyler's parents were never the real touchy-feely, hugging kind, who were genuinely interested in their child's life. Especially his dad. Actually, his dad had always kind of a huge dick to Tyler and you could tell Tyler couldn't stand him, though he obeyed him. She was sure Tyler wasn't glad his dad was dead, but she didn't think he was exactly overcome with grief by it either. Caroline always had a suspicion that Tyler's dad was abusive- whether physically or verbally she wasn't sure- but she had never wanted to go up to Tyler and ask. Tyler wasn't open and especially not with something that would make him look weak. And as for his mom, she was always kind of… distant. She obviously cared about Tyler but she didn't ever show it very well. So if Tyler was going through something, he'd probably choose to keep it in rather than tell his mom about it.

"Go on," Caroline said.

"So maybe in some weird way, he trusts you and maybe he _wants_ to talk to someone but won't admit it," Elena finished, shrugging. Hmm. Caroline couldn't help but think that maybe Elena should want to be a therapist rather than a writer. She was so good at reading people, it was almost a shame she didn't want to make a career out of it.

It was like the light bulb went off it Caroline's head at Elena's words. "You're right," she said. "That totally makes sense. Its like, a cry for help or something!"

Elena shrugged casually, though she looked satisfied. "Maybe," she said. "So what are we going to do?"

Caroline sat up a little straighter, feeling just a little bit better. She found comfort in the way Elena had said "we" instead of "you" when asking her what was to be done. "I'm going to talk to him," she declared.

"But you've tried that," Bonnie pointed out. "And it hasn't helped or gotten you anywhere."

True, very true. She'd just have to change her tactics, which wouldn't be hard. She was Caroline Forbes for God's sake! Not to mention her two best friends were Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett. Between the three of them, they'd come up with something. While this realization did make her feel a little bit better, she was still freaked out somewhat.

"We'll think of something," she said and turned back to Bonnie. "Now, finish telling us."

Bonnie squirmed underneath Elena's and Caroline's gaze, clearly not happy that the attention was turned back on her. "Look, it was probably nothing," she said, though her voice suggested that it was so obviously _something_. "After school, I'm going to go to Gram's house. Maybe she can help."

Bonnie's Grams was a whole world of crazy and everyone knew it. She taught Occult Arts at the local college and claimed that she (and the entire Bennett family) was descended from witches. More specially, Salem witches who traveled to Mystic Falls hundreds of years ago to escape the Salem Witch Trials. Of course, everyone knew Sheila was completely off her rocker but she was an intelligent woman and Caroline liked her. She was nice like any cliché grandma but she also had fire in her, suggesting she wouldn't deal with any crap. She and Bonnie had always had a close bond and Sheila had always played a huge role in Bonnie's life. Bonnie's mom left when she was little and her dad traveled a lot, so Sheila stepped in and helped raise Bonnie. When Bonnie had a problem that the three of them couldn't fix, she'd go to Sheila.

Caroline nodded and offered Bonnie a genuine smile. "She'll know what's up," she said, though she wasn't one hundred percent sure of this. "Now, what exactly am I going to do about Tyler?"

* * *

><p>At the end of lunch, they had come up with somewhat of a plan. Okay, so it wasn't the best plan they'd ever come up with but damn it, they usually didn't deal with dick head boys with serious emotional problems. Well, sometimes they had but not in the level of Tyler Lockwood. After what felt like hours of debate and planning, they'd come up with this: leave no room for debate. That meant that she was going to push Tyler until he either cracked and told her, or killed her. She was hoping for the first one obviously. Okay, so maybe it wasn't an award worthy plan, but Tyler wasn't exactly the most patient person in the world- or patient at all really- so he'd only be able to take it so long.<p>

She was sitting in the library in her study hall period alone at a table, making an action plan. She couldn't decide when or where to instruct Tyler of her newly decided mission to crack him. She supposed she could just walk up to him in the halls, but he was usually surrounded by his douche bag friends or Matt (and she certainly didn't want Matt involved in her plan), so that wouldn't be the ideal place. She could try after school, but no, that wouldn't work. He did after school workouts every day he didn't have practice. Who did that anyways? Was it really necessary to work out _every day_? She guessed that could be his way of escaping. Her's was shopping.

Even with knowing this, she still felt impatient to talk to him.

She glanced around the library. All the students were sitting at tables, nose practically pressed against their textbooks. Others were sitting at the computer, trying not to be obvious about the fact that they weren't working on school related anything. She easily spotted Ms. Van Buren, her teacher, sitting on her butt reading some Nicholas Sparks book, probably wishing that she was the troubled teenage girl or the privileged hottie with the boys chasing after her. Okay, so _maybe_ Caroline had read the books but honestly, who hadn't? It was like _Green Eggs and Ham_. You _had_ to read it. Anyways, she looked engrossed enough that Caroline could easily slip out the side door and head to oh say, lunch? Attendance had already been taken so it wasn't like anyone was really going to miss her. She'd just slip out, go find Tyler (and of course say she was looking for Matt), tell him what she had concluded and slip right back in, unnoticed. No harm done.

She slipped her bag securely over her shoulder-watching Ms. Van Buren the whole time- and tip toed to the exit door. She opened it silently and slipped out. With a large, satisfied smile on her face, she marched off to lunch. Tyler, Matt, Stefan and some of their other friends usually sat outside, tossing the football or just hanging out, so she'd just go up, grab Tyler for a quick second, instruct him of her new plan and be gone, back to class before anyone even knew she was gone.

She spotted them easily, sitting at one of the tables. She walked over, plastering on a smile. Tyler spotted her before anyone else did and the look he gave her did not go unnoticed. It was curious and way too… gosh, she didn't even have the word that would explain it! It was like this mixture of wonder, heat and _something_, tying together in one stare that left her feeling itchy and uncomfortable.

"Hey, Care!" Caroline heard his familiar voice and she smiled more genuinely, though it still wasn't as bright and warm as usual. Matt was giving her a big, warm smile. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bench beside him and across from Tyler. Everyone was looking at her, but she ignored them. They weren't even factors in her mission. "Study Hall got boring," she explained, feeling the warm weight of his arm go around her should. Was she delusional or did she just see something very close to anger flash through Tyler's brown eyes? Surely, she was just seeing things. "So I thought I'd come here and hang out with you," she said, her words directed towards Matt but her eyes on Tyler's.

"Sweet," Matt said, and she could practically hear the smile on his face.

His friends slowly pulled him back into the conversation they had been in, something about football- she honestly didn't care. She was too busy watching an uncharacteristically silent Tyler play around on his phone underneath the table. He must have sensed her staring at him because he looked up.

"What?" he asked, lowly.

Matt seemed to notice the awkwardness between his best friend and girlfriend. She felt him I'm watching them.

"Actually, Tyler can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked, politely.

He looked at her evenly and his eyes flickered to Matt for just a second, almost like he was expecting Matt to say "hell no."

He didn't though. "We're about to leave so I'll see you later?" Matt asked, looking down at Caroline. She smiled and nodded. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. After pulling back, she stood up, gave a wave to Stefan, who was watching the three of them with his eyebrows raised, and looked at Tyler. For a second, she didn't think he was going to get up, but finally he did, though was clearly reluctant about it.

She more so felt him following her than hearing or seeing him. When she was a safe distance away from Matt and his friends, and everyone else for that matter, she stopped and turned around. Tyler was standing a foot or two away from her, his hands in his pockets and an almost blank expression on his face.

"What, Caroline?" he asked, sounding tired and almost defeated, like he was losing some battle by talking to her.

"I don't get you, you know that?" she asked, plan momentarily forgotten. She was staring at him incredulously, wishing she could use a stick and beat some sense into him with it.

He pursued his lips before finally he said, "And how is that?"

"Because!" she exclaimed. She saw a few heads turn and she swallowed, heat rising to her cheeks. She swallowed again, trying to get a hold of herself, very aware that Matt was watching them. "Because," she said, her voice more steady, more leveled. "Its like you can't allow people to care about you."

He cocked his head to the side in the most infuriating manner, like he found her amusing, or cute even. "Why do you care about me, Caroline?"

She froze again. There that damn question was again. "Because I've known you my entire life," she lied.

He shook his head, inching closer to her. "Try again."

"Because you're my boyfriend's best friend," she tried, though this lie was worst than the first.

He shook his head and took a step closer. "You and I both know you're lying," he said, slowly. She couldn't help the small shiver that ran through her body at his words.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Okay? I have no idea why I care so much, but I do!"

Just as suddenly as he had stepped forward, he stepped back. "You shouldn't," he said, seriously

"Why?" she asked and this time she took the step forward, her eyes never leaving his. "Why shouldn't I care?"

He laughed bitterly and looked down at the ground. Finally, after a few seconds he looked up and there was something very close to sadness in his eyes. "Because its not good for you."

His words made no sense but she easily heard the warning, like he was actually saying he was dangerous to her. It didn't make sense but she didn't ignore it. "I don't know what's going on with you, Tyler," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "But I'm going to find out."

At first she didn't think he'd be able to hear her. They weren't far apart but her words had been low. His expression suggested he had though. He took a small step forward and leaned down so his mouth was a few inches from his ear.

"I really wish you wouldn't try," he whispered, his hot breath tickling her ear.

Before she had time to respond, the bell had wrung and he was walking away, leaving her open mouthed and not satisfied in the least.

* * *

><p>So, I know you guys are probably still confused about what's going on because I am being quite vague and I do apologize for that! Some of next chapter will be in Tyler's POV (though mostly still Caroline's) so some things will be revealed! And the foundations for Fowood will also begin being set next chapter!<p>

Review! (:


	5. Chapter 5

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 5

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

**Author's Note:** Hello people. So this chapter was originally going to be the Sexy Suds car wash plus what happens in this chapter, but it would be like waaaay to long to be just one chapter so I split it up. This chapter is mostly in Tyler's POV! Yaaay. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, alerts, etc. Enjoy!

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><p>Light was streaming in through her curtains and hitting her directly in the eyes. Even closed, the light felt too bright. She turned and buried her face in her soft pillow, trying to force herself back into sleep. And hopefully a more peaceful one this time. No such luck though, because as she felt sleep ease its way over her, her alarm clock went off, causing her to gasp in surprise and jump. Groaning into the soft cotton pillow, she extended a heavy arm and tried to locate the alarm clock. Finally, after knocking over a few things, she found it and switched it off. She contemplated staying in bed and going to school late, but then she wouldn't be able to cheer at tonight's game. Normally, that rule only applied to the football players, but Coach Mayhew had made it a rule for the cheerleaders too.<p>

Caroline sat up, feeling heavy and exhausted. She cursed Coach Mayhew and swung her legs out of the covers, the cold air hitting her scantily clothed body, making her shiver. She practically ran to the shower and turned the hot water on, sighing a little more happily when the steam poured out, warming her. She slipped off her clothes and stepped into the shower, shivering as the hot water hit her goose bump covered body. She just stood there a minute, enjoying the hot water before finally sighing and picking up her shampoo. She squirted a fairly large amount in her hands and began scrubbing her unruly blonde bed head.

"_I don't know," she admitted. "Okay? I have no idea why I care so much, but I do!"_

_Just as suddenly as he had stepped forward, he stepped back. "You shouldn't," he said, seriously._

"_Why?" she asked and this time she took the step forward, her eyes never leaving his. "Why shouldn't I care?"_

_He laughed bitterly and looked down at the ground. Finally, after a few seconds he looked up and there was something very close to sadness in his eyes. "Because its not good for you."_

_His words made no sense but she easily heard the warning, like he was actually saying he was dangerous to her. It didn't make sense but she didn't ignore it. "I don't know what's going on with you, Tyler," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "But I'm going to find out."_

_At first she didn't think he'd be able to hear her. They weren't far apart but her words had been low. His expression suggested he had though. He took a small step forward and leaned down so his mouth was a few inches from his ear._

"_I really wish you wouldn't try," he whispered, his hot breath tickling her ear._

Despite the heat of the shower, she still shivered remembering his words. _I really wish you wouldn't try._ It was like a song on replay, or a chant, continuously going through her brain. _I really wish you wouldn't try. I really wish you wouldn't try. I really wish you wouldn't try._ Why didn't he? Was he scared of letting someone in or scared of something else she didn't understand? God, did she wish she knew.

Not wanting to be late for school, Caroline shut off the water and shivered immediately. She reached for her towels and wrapped them tightly around herself. Stepping out, she walked into her room and pulled her cheerleading outfit out of her closet and laid it on the bed. Cheerleaders were required to wear their uniforms on game days and Caroline had always liked that. She thought it showed school spirit and all that. After drying off, she slipped it on and threw a pair of sweats into her bag for tonight, just in case it got cold enough. She then went back to her bathroom and began straightening her hair. After it was to her liking, she pulled it up in a high ponytail and tied a red, black and white bow around it, matching the outfit.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked tired with bags underneath her eyes and her already pale skin looked even paler. Whether it was from lack or sleep or something else- that something else being Tyler of course- she didn't know. She sighed and thanked whatever genius created makeup. After a little foundation, mascara, eyeliner and lip gloss, she'd look much better.

While putting on her makeup, her mind drifted to Tyler. The one thing that scared her more than the whole situation itself was the fact that she cared about him. She didn't know why or when it happened, but she did. She cared if he was hurt or upset. Even thinking about him hurt or upset made her want to talk to him, to comfort him. And she didn't understand this stupid… protectiveness over him. She'd felt it when she talked to the officer after Cody had been attacked and he had hinted that maybe Tyler had attacked Cody. She had wanted to protect him, defend him. And it didn't make sense! When did Tyler become more than that dickhead friend she put up with just because they had been in the same group of friends since birth? When did he start to matter?

Her hands were shaking thinking about it. Her whole body was shaking actually and she wanted to cry. She was so confused and jumbled up that her emotions were all out of whack. For the first time in quite awhile, she felt helpless, like her life was no longer controlled by her anymore.

* * *

><p>A feeling of despair washed over him, waking him up from his already restless sleep. He sat up, rubbing his eyes confused. He looked around. Everything was in place. Nothing had changed since yesterday so why did he feel like everything was different? The faint feeling of fear and confusion were tightening his stomach and that only confused him further.<p>

He shook his head and walked to his bathroom, turning on the shower. Ten minutes later, he was dressed in black basketball shorts and his red football jersey, which he was required to wear on game days. He gathered his football stuff and through a gray hoody in his duffel bag, though he knew he wouldn't need it. He hadn't been cold or cool even for over two weeks.

With that same feeling in his stomach, he hitched his bag over his shoulder and walked downstairs, hearing his mom and Mason's voice from the kitchen. He tip toed down the stairs, vainly hoping he could slip out of the house unnoticed. He wasn't up for family time this morning. Just as he reached the door, thinking he was actually going to get away, he heard Mason's voice.

"Hey, Tyler can you come into the kitchen?"

Tyler cursed low under his breath, though he knew Mason would hear him, and walked slowly to the kitchen. He saw his mom standing by the door, frantically putting things into her purse. Mason was watching him carefully and Tyler glared at him, though his uncle seemed unaffected by it.

Carol turned around, putting her bag over her shoulder and gave Tyler a smile, which he half heartedly returned. "Morning, Tyler," she said, walking to him. She kissed him on the cheek and squeezed his arm, her way of showing affection.

"Morning, Mom," he said.

"I'm going to be working late tonight so I left money for dinner after the game on the counter," she said and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. As if he didn't have his own credit card.

"Okay, thanks," he said instead.

"Have a good day at school and I'll see you later!" she called. "Bye Mason!"

They both said goodbye and were silent until they both heard the sound of a car door opening and shutting, then the sound of the engine starting. They both seemed to unfreeze when they heard the car going down the driveway. Tyler waited for Mason to say something, tell him why he had called him into the kitchen, but he continued to sit on the stool and eat a bowl of cereal.

"Alright," Tyler said, after a few seconds of awkward silent- at least on his part. "What?"

"Hmm?" Mason asked, raising eyebrow and looking up from his bowl.

Tyler sighed, already annoyed, which wasn't unusual. He felt like he had constantly been angry, annoyed or somehow unhappy the last two weeks. Why should today be any different? "What do you want?" Tyler asked. "Why'd you call me in here?"

"I can't just talk to my nephew without having a motive?" Mason asked, his gray-blue eyes shining with innocence.

Tyler rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Cut the crap, Mason," he snapped. "You always have some kind of motive. Just spit it out."

"I'm worried about you," he said, simply.

"Don't," Tyler replied. "Don't play the concerned uncle act."

"Its not an act," Mason said, frowning.

Tyler scoffed, feeling his temper begin to flare. "When was the last time you came to visit?" he asked. "When I was what? Thirteen?"

"That doesn't mean I can't be worried about you," he said, looking genuine.

Tyler shrugged and took a step back. "Whatever," he said, turning to leave.

"Tyler wait!" he called. "I want to talk to you."

"Look," Tyler said, glancing at the clock on the stove. "I can't be late top school or I can't play tonight. Can we do this later?"

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Mason asked. "Playing tonight?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"I just don't want anyone getting hurt," Mason said, giving him a pointed look.

Tyler felt his insides freeze and he swallowed back the baseball sized lump suddenly in his throat. He watched, frozen as Mason stood up and walked to him. "Tyler, I think you're in denial," Mason said. "But just because you won't accept it doesn't make it any less real. You need to understand that you are different now. You're stronger, faster. You could hurt someone without meaning to."

"Believe me, I'm not in denial," Tyler said, the lump still in his throat. He wasn't even remotely close to being in denial. He was far too aware of the truth. He _wished_ he was in denial. In seemed much better than reality.

"You say that, but you aren't facing this either."

Tyler almost laughed. "Not facing it? Mason, I'm facing it. I'm facing it and it is scaring the hell out of me." It felt weird finally saying those words out loud; finally admitting he was scared. It didn't release any of the weight off his shoulders though. No, he still felt like he was being crushed with the secret.

Mason's expression softened a little bit. "I know," he said. "Believe me, I know. I've been there. I know how scary it is feeling like you don't have control of your life anymore. But Tyler, you do. After the full moon, you're still going to be you, just a different version of yourself."

It sure as hell didn't feel that way. It felt like his entire fucking life was over. It felt like he was no longer the one controlling his life, but he was still forced to stay on the ride. He couldn't find his voice, so he remained silent.

"You have to be very responsible with this," Mason warned, more serious than Tyler had ever seen him. "You have more power than you can imagine now and you can hurt people with that power. You have to be careful."

"I am being careful," he said, thinking about how many people he had pushed away since he found out that he was a… werewolf. He shuddered. Jesus Christ, he was a werewolf. In less than two weeks he was going to turn for the very first time. The thought made him want to throw up. He didn't even believe in this stuff. At least, he didn't use to. But now, now he did because he was a _part _of it. Tyler hadn't believed Mason when he told him that he was going to turn into a werewolf. Actually, he thought he was insane, but the moment that stuff Mason called Wolf's Bane touched his arm and he felt its burn and smelt his own flesh burning, he believed it.

"Okay," Mason said, though he didn't look like he believed it completely. "Any news on Cody?"

Tyler sighed. He was going to have to haul ass to get to school in time. "Not that I've heard," he said. He knew he was alive, but that was it. Remembering carrying Cody out of the woods freaked him out. And not just because half of the kid's blood was on him, but because it had been like lifting nothing. Cody wasn't a huge guy, but he was nowhere near small either. It should have been too hard to carry him out of the woods. But of course, Tyler was a werewolf now and he had more than human strength.

"Any news on who did it?"

Tyler shook his head. He'd heard a lot but it was probably all rumors and made up crap. ""Nothing official."

"Alright," he said, his eyes thoughtful but his face easy- the eternal surfer. "You should get going."

Tyler nodded, wanting nothing more than to be out of this house.

"Remember what I said!" Mason called out.

_Yeah, yeah._

…

Something was seriously wrong with him. And something more than being a werewolf. He noticed it right after Sarah died and it had been getting stronger the last two weeks. He came to the realization yesterday and it freaked him out almost as much as becoming a werewolf. He was crushing on Caroline Forbes. Like he was _really_ crushing on Caroline. He'd only had a very collect few crushes in his entire life- most of them being in elementary and middle school- and none of them have ever been this strong. When he really thought about it, it felt like more than a crush.

Tyler had known Caroline from as far back as he could remember. They'd played together in kindergarten out on the play ground, him trying to put mud on her and her screaming and running for cover. Back then Caroline was kind of like a little sister to him. He remembered one time in second grade some kid had pushed her down on the play ground and Tyler had punched him right in the face, giving the kid a bloody nose. But he would have done that for Elena or Bonnie too. Sometime in elementary school he realized that girls definitely weren't gross and he realized that Caroline was actually really pretty. He'd more or less spent the rest of elementary school trying to get her attention, and a little something more in middle. Despite his attempts of trying to hook up with her, Caroline had always declined and he never actually liked her, liked her. Sure, she was hot, but they got on each other's nerves way too much to really form a friendship, let alone anything else. Not to mention the fact that Tyler wasn't relationship material.

But recently something's changed and he's looking at her like that. He can't stop himself. Its like she's a magnet. He's tried his best to shake that feeling, but it won't go away. He knew he should not be feeling anything for Caroline. It was just wrong. That was Matt's girlfriend and Matt was the closest thing Tyler ever had to a brother. Matt was his best friend and he couldn't make a move on Caroline. He wasn't going to lie, he could be a huge dick but still, he wouldn't go that far, not too Matt.

But damn it, every time he was anywhere near Caroline she was all he could think about. Whenever she was smiling, he found himself smiling too and when she laughed, it was like a freaking drug. He needed to hear it more. He would do anything to make her laugh. And she was being so damn nice to him lately, it was driving him insane. It was like he was an open book when she was around and every time she asked him what was wrong, he wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her everything but he couldn't do that. Even if she wouldn't think he was completely insane, it was too dangerous. He was dangerous and he would never forgive himself if he hurt her. He wished she would just leave him alone, even if that made part of him ache. It would be safer for her in the long run. But she wasn't and it was becoming harder and harder to be rude to her, to avoid her. Every time she talked to him, concern for _him_ clear in those blue eyes of her, it got that much harder to push her away.

He'd come up with a theory and it scared the hell out of him. This had started as soon as he had triggered the curse. What if his feelings for Caroline were somehow connected to being a werewolf? He really needed to talk to Mason about that. Maybe he knew what was happening but he really didn't want to talk to Mason. He used to love Mason coming and visiting because he was much cooler than his dad was, but lately his presence has seemed more like a curse. But Mason knew about this stuff, so he would talk to him tonight after the game.

"Tyler!"

He turned at the sound of his name, seeing Matt jogging towards him wearing his red jersey.

He slowed down and waited for him. "Hey man, what's up?" Tyler asked when Matt was in hearing distance.

"Nothing," he said. He rubbed the back of his head and looked almost… embarrassed? "Listen, can I talk to you for a second?"

Damn it. Tyler was so tired of people wanting to talk to him. They were either prying, attempting to "be there for him" or… whatever Matt was about to talk to him about. "Yeah, sure," he said, reluctantly.

He was quiet for a second, looking wildly uncomfortable. Tyler shifted his weight to his other side and tried not to sigh impatiently. Did being a werewolf make time seem like it was going slower or was he just really that impatient? Either way, he wished Matt would hurry up. Wherever Matt was, Caroline usually was too and he really didn't want to see her. Actually, he did but he pushed that thought from his head. "What's going on?" he asked, trying to move the whole process along.

"Is something going on with you and Caroline?" he asked.

His heart stopped for a second before picking back up, twice as fast as before. Tyler tried to keep his face controlled and not show any sign of nervousness or even worse, guilt. Because they hadn't done anything, much to his dismay (and guilt). "What do you mean?" Tyler asked. Had she said something about him?

"I don't know," Matt said, shuffling his feet. "Its just that I keep seeing you two talking and I don't care or anything, but you never have before and then yesterday-"

"Listen, nothing is going on between us," Tyler said, though he wasn't one hundred percent sure if that was true. "Yesterday… she was just reminding me about the car wash and what time it was."

Matt still looked skeptical, but he dropped it, shrugging and saying okay.

The rest of the day went by without a hitch. Much to his happiness and annoyance, he didn't talk to Caroline the entire day. He saw her plenty of times, looking incredibly hot in her cheerleading outfit. How had he never noticed how hot she was before? He could just imagine running his fingers through her curly blonde hair and- he cut himself off. Jesus Christ, this was getting unhealthy. Shaking his head in the hopes of getting _that_ mental image out of his brain, he walked unhappily to the football to begin their practice before the game tonight.

...

They won 42 to 12. The game had been ridiculously easy and Tyler couldn't help but think that was the only good thing coming out of this whole werewolf thing: the speed, the strength. It was making anything physical a whole hell of lot easier. The whole quick reflex thing was good because many, many times during the game he found his eyes wandering to Caroline in her short skirt, cheering them on right in the middle of a play. He thought he saw her watching him a few times, but he could have been deluding himself and she was really watching Matt. _That_ made his jealously flair. Rationally, he knew he had zero right to be jealous but irrationally, he wanted to punch Matt right in the face whenever he even looked at Caroline.

God, he was losing it.

"Hey Tyler!"

He turned around in just enough to jump back as Jeremy Gilbert's fist came at his face. Jeremy's eyes widened in surprise but it didn't deter him from trying again. And again, Tyler blocked it and, only using part of his strength, pushed Jeremy back. Still, it sent him stumbling back a few feet and Tyler smelt the familiar sent of alcohol in the air.

"What the hell, Gilbert?" Tyler snapped, annoyance rushing through him. What was his problem? Tyler couldn't recall doing anything to him recently. Actually, aside from seeing Jeremy maybe once at lunch, he didn't see or associate with him at all.

Jeremy straightened himself back up and came towards him, though he didn't swing again.

"She told me!" Jeremy accused.

Okay, now he was annoyed and confused. "Who told you what?" Tyler asked, imaging throwing him against the wall.

"Vicki!" he yelled.

Ah. It all made sense now. "And what did she tell you?" Tyler asked, already knowing it was a lie. Best friend's sister or not, Vicki was a liar, an addict and manipulative. She wouldn't think twice about making up some stupid story to get what she wanted.

"That you tried to force yourself on her!"

His jaw nearly hit the floor at that one. Yeah, Vicki was a liar but he never thought she'd cry rape when it wasn't true. He wasn't _that_ big of a douche bag and the only time they had hooked up she had been a very willing participate. Afterwards, he'd caught her trying to steal his pain medication he got last year after breaking his collarbone and he'd ended it really quickly after that.

"Check your facts, Gilbert," Tyler said. "That didn't happen."

"Like I'm going to believe you over her," Jeremy said, incredulously.

"Believe whatever you want," Tyler said. "But Vicki is a liar and she's using you. Do yourself a favor and walk away before you end up OD-ing out in the middle of the woods."

He turned to leave. Before he could react, he sensed Jeremy right behind him at the same time he felt something sharp slice across his hand, then the warm, wet feel of blood. He looked down at his hand and sure enough, he had a gash right across the center of his palm and it was dripping blood. He turned around, full intent of knocking his teeth in when, but someone grabbed him before he could take the first step.

He tried to shrug the person off, but they had a good hold on him. "Stop Tyler!" Stefan yelled. "Don't!"

Tyler struggled against his hold before finally relaxing, Mason's warning ringing in his ear. _"You have more power than you can imagine now and you can hurt people with that power. You have to be careful." _

"Alright," Tyler said, trying to shrug Stefan off. "I'm fine, let go!"

He hesitated but finally did and Tyler saw a few people watching them. The broken bottle Jeremy had used was on the ground, red with his blood. Someone had already pulled Jeremy away and he saw Elena walking up to him, looking like she was about to choke him. Tyler almost laughed at that one. Almost.

"What was that?" Stefan asked.

"The result of getting brainwashed and being naive," Tyler said, shaking his head. He picked up his bag that he dropped and made his way to the field house, where he would wrap his hand and then go home. Halfway there, he sensed her. He turned and saw Caroline-no longer in her skirt but a pair of sweatpants- on her cell phone, looking annoyed and impatient. She hung up and before he could walk away, she spotted him.

She then noticed his hand, which was dripping blood. Her eyes widened she rushed over to him. "Oh, my god Tyler!" she exclaimed, reaching for his hand. "What happened to your hand?"

"Nothing," he said, ignoring the electricity that seemed to pass through them when she touched his hand.

"That is not nothing," she argued, examining the cut. "This might need stitches."

He rolled his eyes at her dramatics. "Its fine," he said. "I'm just going to wrap it."

"Fine," she huffed. "Let me do it."

He knew there was no point in arguing, not to mention he really wanted to talk to her, so he agreed and they walked in a comfortable silence to the field house. Once inside, she instructed him to sit down on one of the chairs while she went and got the first aid kit. He kept his eyes on her the entire time she looked through the cabinet, her face hidden behind the door.

"Got it!" she said, emerging with a little white box. She walked over and sat down beside him. "Hand," she said.

He sighed and placed his hand in hers. She opened up the box, pulling out gauze pads and Peroxide. After dousing one with the clear liquid, she wiped his hand clean of all blood. Her eyebrows furrowed when all the blood was clean and he looked down too. The cut had already begun to heal itself and it wasn't as deep. "That's weird," she said, staring at the cut. "I thought it was deeper."

"Guess not," he said, quickly. "It was too covered in blood to really tell, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess so," she said, though she still looked confused. She put some white stuff that burned on the cut and wrapped it up.

"Done," she said.

"Thanks," he mumbled, wondering how long it would be before the cut was completely gone. An hour? Two?

After putting everything away, they made their way to the door. She shivered when they stepped outside and he saw goose bumps on her arm.

"Hey are you cold?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, blush rising in her cheeks. "I forgot my jacket this morning."

"Here," he said, unzipping his bag and pulling out his gray hoody. He held it out to her. "Take mine."

She bit her lip, hesitating. "You don't need it?"

He shook his head. She smiled gratefully and slipped it over her head. It was about five sizes too big and she could probably fit three other Caroline's in it, but she didn't complain.

They were halfway to the student parking lot when someone finally spoke.

"So what actually happened to your hand?" she asked, looking over at him, her blue eyes filled with curiously.

"Jeremy Gilbert," he said, rolling his eyes.

"What? Why?"

"Vicki told him that I tried to force myself on her and he confronted me about it."

"Why would she lie?" Caroline asked.

"How do you know she's lying?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow at how quickly she had rejected the idea.

She rolled her eyes at him, a small smile on her face. "You're not _that_ much of an ass," she said., shrugging. "I know you wouldn't do something like that."

He smiled. "Nice to know someone does."

"Plenty of- damn it!" she exclaimed, suddenly.

"What?" he asked, looking around for any kind of explanation for her outburst.

"She left me!" Caroline said, angrily.

"Who did?"

"Bonnie!" she said. "I was suppose to ride home with her, but her car isn't here."

There were only a few cars still in the parking lot and none of them were Bonnie's Prius. Tyler felt a moment of annoyance at her for just leaving Caroline.

"Now what the hell am I going to do?" she asked, his voice rising with stress.

Tyler laughed. "Caroline, I'm not going to leave you at the school. I'll give you a ride home."

"Are you sure its not too big of a problem?" she asked, still annoyed at Bonnie.

He rolled his eyes. "Not at all."

She gave him another grateful smile. "Thanks, Tyler."

* * *

><p><strong>Coming up next chapter<strong>: Tyler learns what he and Caroline really are, the Sexy Suds car wash and a plot is finally introduced!

Review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 6

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time _with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

**Author's Note**: First off, ohmygosh! The episode Thursday was so sad and not how I thought it was going to be): Though I was happy Matt dumped Caroline and she went and cuddled with a very naked Tyler underneath that hideous blanket! Yaaay Forwood is rising! Anyways, I'm moving this weekend so I'm not sure exactly when I'll be updating again. It may be a week or two what with the finishing packing, unpacking and settling in. Bummer, I know. I'll do my best though! So far, this is my favorite chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for those of you who have read and reviewed. The feedback is very appreciated and I'm so glad you like it!

* * *

><p>The car ride to Caroline's house was mostly quiet. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence exactly, but it wasn't comfortable either. It was like there was something hanging over both their heads and it happened to be the same thing. As much as he wanted to voice this, he kept quiet- not something he was usually good at. This whole secret thing was already changing him and he hadn't even shifted yet. Little things- like his "hitting and quitting" motto and "speak before you think" way of life- that made him Tyler Lockwood just weren't there anymore. Caroline was obviously the reason he was rethinking the first one- <em>stupid, stupid, stupid!<em>- and as for the second one, when you had to carry around a secret this big, he couldn't accord to not think before he speaks. It could blow right up in his face.

Anyways, Caroline was unusually silent. Caroline was always talking, or humming, or _something_. But not now. She was just sitting there, staring out the windshield at nothing in particular. She must of felt that same thing he had felt- the weight. But of course, she wouldn't know what it was. At least, not exactly. Like the complete idiot he was, he basically told her he was hiding something yesterday, so she knew it was something, just not what exactly. He was surprised she hadn't brought it up yet.

Trees were passing by in a blur of different shades of green. He'd never really noticed small things like that until his already 20 20 vision improved by a _lot_. Werewolf eyes and all that. Things that would have been just a blur or unsteady was now a perfect picture. Little details stood out like they were twenty times their usual size and everything seemed brighter. Like Caroline's hair seemed shinier and her natural curls seemed to be more… bouncy or something. And what he always thought were just two plain blue eyes were now like two burning sapphires. Everything was just so intensified.

It made his head hurt.

They were about a minute away from her house and he saw her shift a little in her seat, like she was suddenly uncomfortable. "Have you heard anything about Cody?" she asked, her voice almost shy.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She was resting with her back slightly leaning against the door, angled toward him. She had taken her hair down and it was a little messy. One hand was tangling in it and she was resting her elbow against the door. He couldn't help but notice how sexy she looked in his oversized hoody.

He quickly pushed that thought away, remembering werewolves and best friends. "Not really," he admitted. He felt a little guilty that he'd saved his life and hadn't checked up on him. They weren't exactly friends but still.

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I hope he's okay," she said. Something like fear flashed through her eyes. "I hope they catch whatever did that," she said, a small shudder going through her body.

He wanted to reach his hand out and somehow comfort her, tell her that'd he never let anyone or anything hurt her, but he couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. Damn, he needed to talk to Mason. He needed to find out why he cared so much about her all the sudden.

"They will," he said, though he had no idea.

"Its scary," she said, quietly- not the usual loud, perky, bubbly Caroline. "Knowing that whatever ripped him open like that is still roaming free."

"They'll catch it," he said, more certainly. "Don't worry. You'll be safe." _I'll keep you safe. _

He hadn't said the words out loud but the blood that flushed her cheeks and how she looked away made him think he might as well have.

Her house came into view and he pulled up into the driveway. She unbuckled her seat belt and started to remove his hoody.

"Keep it," he said, opening the door. "Its cold."

"Tyler, I'm not sure…never mind. I'll give it back to you tomorrow," she said. "Thanks."

He shut the door and opened up his trunk where both of their bags were. He picked hers up and shut the trunk. She reached out for it but he said "I got it" and she raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised, though she didn't make any remarks about it. He walked her up to the door and waited patiently for her to unlock it.

"Thanks," she said, giving him a small smile. "For everything."

"Yeah, no problem," he said.

They stood their for a moment, just staring at each other. He was getting lost in his newly discovered feelings for her and he couldn't read what she was thinking. After a moment, she looked down and cleared her throat. He handed her the bag and said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Twelve o'clock," she said. "Don't be late."

"I won't," he promised.

She stepped in the entrance of the door and switched on a light. "See you later, Ty."

"Bye Caroline," he said and turned around, making his way back to his car.

…

Mason was in the kitchen on his lap top when Tyler got home. Once again, he tried to sneak away, and once again, it failed. Mason called him into the kitchen and he almost ignored him, but the whole "I didn't hear you" excuse would no longer work on him.

"How was the game?" Mason asked, looking up from the screen.

"Fine. We won."

" What happened to your hand?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tyler sighed, not wanting to get into it. "A misunderstanding."

"How's the other guy look?" he asked, seriously, like he thought Tyler probably beat the hell out of him.

Tyler felt a sliver of irritation go through him, making his hands clench and eyes narrow, before he calmed himself down. This was what Mason was talking about- how easy it was to lose control. "Not a scratch on him. At least not from me," he said, remembering how Elena looked like she was going to kill him. Elena had always been very, very protective of Jeremy, but Tyler had seen Elena kick his ass plenty of times for stupid things. He almost felt sorry for him. _Almost._

"Good," Mason said, looking a mixture of proud and surprised. "I'm glad. You're already learning to control yourself."

"Not like I have much choice," he said, thinking of how much control he used when he was around Caroline….

"You're right," Mason said, his eyebrows raised in curiosity at Tyler, like his thoughts had been an open book. He looked him over for a minute. "Anything you want to talk about?" he asked.

_Yes_. "No," Tyler said, shrugging in hopes of looking nonchalant. He didn't really want to talk to Mason about this whole Caroline thing, though he knew he probably should. But he just couldn't shake this feeling of not trusting Mason. "Not really."

Mason sighed and shut his laptop. He leaned back and gave Tyler a pointed look. "One of perk of being a werewolf is you have better hearing," he stated, like this should mean something to Tyler.

"I know?" Tyler said. He didn't understand where this was going but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

"And because of that, I can hear your heartbeat," Mason pointed out. "So I can hear when it starts beating faster, which is an effect of lying."

_Of course_, Tyler thought. The word "privacy" just didn't apply to him anymore. He wasn't even safe in his own head anymore. "Fine," Tyler said, dropping his bag on the floor and taking a seat across from Mason. "There is something."

Mason waited patiently for him to continue.

"Its this girl," Tyler admitted. "Caroline."

"Caroline," Mason said, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remembered. "Caroline… blonde, perky, talks a lot?"

Tyler nodded and his lips lifted up just the slightest. That was definitely Caroline. "Yeah."

"What about her?"

"Something… weird is going on," he said, though weird just didn't cover it.

"With her or you?" Mason asked.

"Me, I guess," he said. "When I'm around her its like…I can't focus on anything _but_ her."

"When did you notice it?" Mason asked, looking slightly confused.

"A few days after the Masquerade Ball," Tyler said.

Mason's look of confusion turned into one of realization and his eyes widened. Whatever was happening, he clearly knew about it and understood it.

"What?" Tyler asked, leaning forward.

"Oh my god," Mason said, in disbelief.

"_What?_" Tyler asked. The waiting was physically painful.

"She's… she's your mate."

* * *

><p>"Caroline, I'm <em>sorry<em>," Bonnie said for the millionth time. Bonnie and Caroline were in Bonnie's baby blue Prius, driving to school for the Sexy Suds car wash. Later last night Bonnie realized that she was suppose to have given Caroline a ride after the game and called her a million times until finally Caroline answered. She apologized over and over and offered her a ride to the car wash. Caroline almost declined because the last time it had worked out _so_ well, but finally accepted. Bonnie was still apologizing, thinking that Caroline's quietness was because she was still mad. She was definitely still a little irritated, but that wasn't the reason why she was being quiet. Not even close.

"I know," Caroline said, tearing her gaze from outside to Bonnie. "I'm not mad anymore."

Bonnie looked relieved but then worried again. "Then why are you being so quiet? Are you sick or something?"

Caroline shook her head, realized that Bonnie wouldn't see that and then said, "No, I'm just… distracted."

"Is it Tyler?" she asked, quietly. While they were talking last night, Caroline told her that she had gotten a ride from Tyler. Bonnie must have picked up on something in Caroline's voice while telling her.

"Sort of," Caroline lied. It wasn't "sort of." Of course it was Tyler. Lately, it was _always_ Tyler. He was the source of her annoyance, her confusion, her dreams and her curiosity. It was like every second he was just there. Last night when she needed a ride home, he was there. In her dreams when she needed to be saved, he was there. He was even popping up in her thoughts at random. And the most confusing thing of all was that she wanted him to be there. Thoughts, in person… all of it. What was wrong with her?

"Honestly, Care," Bonnie said, her voice sounding almost shy, "I think you should stay away from him."

Caroline raised an eyebrow and angled herself in the seat to get a better view of Bonnie. "Why?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Because I-"she cut off and cleared her throat. "I just don't think he's a good influence."

Caroline almost laughed. "A good influence Bonnie?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Really? What were you actually going to say?"

"That's what I was going to say!" she said, quickly. Bonnie had never really been a good liar and they both knew it.

Caroline just gave her a pointed look and waited.

"Okay fine!" Bonnie said, her voice rising. A tight frown formed on her lips and she stared out the windshield intently. "Its just that lately I've been getting a bad vibe from Tyler."

"What kind of vibes?" Caroline asked, curiously. She'd been getting a lot of vibes from Tyler lately, but none of them were bad exactly. Wrong maybe, but not bad.

"Like he's changed," Bonnie explained, slowly. "I don't even know how to describe it, but when I'm around Tyler I feel… darkness coming from him."

Caroline's eyebrows furrowed. She'd been around Tyler plenty the last few days and she didn't feel "darkness" coming from him. She didn't even know how to feel darkness. "Bonnie does this have anything to do with you talking to your Grams?"

Bonnie blushed visibly. "I felt it before I talked to my Grams, Care," she said.

"Okay, okay," Caroline said, raising her hands. "I believe you. So what did your Grams say about, you know, everything?"

Bonnie shook her head and sighed. "She said that I'm a witch." Her tone suggested that she clearly didn't believe this to be the case.

"Wait," Caroline said. "A witch? Like a _witch,_ witch?"

Bonnie nodded. "She said part of being a witch is having psychic powers. I can read energies and have visions. That's why I felt something at the party. She said I was reading the negative energy."

Caroline was really doing her best not to laugh. She didn't want to be mean and hurt Bonnie's feelings, but a witch, really? "That's…" she trailed off, not knowing the word.

Bonnie gave Caroline a small smile. "Its okay, you can laugh," she said, her smile widening, though it looked a little forced "I laughed too."

"Sorry, Bon," Caroline said, shrugging as a small giggle escaped her lips. "I just don't believe in that kind of stuff."

"I know. Believe me, I do. I didn't believe it either."

"And now?"

"I'm not saying I believe that I'm a witch," she said, "But I felt something out in the woods. I wasn't hallucinating."

"I believe you," Caroline said, honestly. "I just don't understand what it could have been."

"Yeah, me either," Bonnie said.

They arrived at the school, where a few people already were, setting up for Sexy Suds. It was 11:40 so they were all a little early. All they really needed to do was set up the table where they would accept the cash and get all the supplies together. They parked off to the side so the customers would have enough room and got out, ending all conversations of witches and other supernatural things.

When they were almost done, Elena, Stefan and Damon all arrived in the same car. Elena looked gorgeous in a simple red bikini and short shorts. Stefan was in a blue swimsuit and was not so subtly staring at Elena, who was giggling and blushing. Damon was- of course- in a plain black bathing suit but did he make it work. Damon was the kind of guy that could wear a dishrag and still look heartbreakingly sexy. Caroline had to physically make herself stop staring at his abs.

"Take a picture, Blondie," Damon said, smirking as the three approached her. "It'll last longer."

Caroline scoffed and Elena and Stefan rolled their eyes in sync. "Please, Salvatore," she said, using her bitchy tone that she generally reserved for the hard to deal with cheerleaders. "I don't want a picture of _that_."

"Yeah, _right_," Damon said, rolling his eyes at her.

"You should really start working out," she lied, and poked his rock hard abs. "You're going soft."

Damon narrowed his eyes and said, "Am not," but his hand dropped to his stomach.

"Alright children," Stefan said, sounding a lot older than seventeen. "Are we going to finish setting up?"

"Shut up," Damon said, smacking Stefan on the arm. Stefan returned a smack and within seconds they were wrestling.

Elena shook her head and sighed. "When you put them in the room together, they become the most immature people you can ever imagine."

"I see that," Caroline said. "But at least they're getting along better."

The Salvatore brothers didn't always use to get along so well. Apparently they had sort of started hating each other after some girl came in between them, but after a while they worked it out, though they were far from being perfect, loving brothers again. At least things were getting better between the two.

"Yeah," Elena said, nodding. "Now if we could just work out Damon's maturity issues."

"I heard that!" Damon said, an arm locked around Stefan chest, about to throw him to the ground.

"That was the point!" Elena yelled. She turned back to Caroline, rolling her eyes. "Let's finish."

Ten minutes later things were all set up and the rest of the volunteers began to arrive. Matt arrived and Caroline turned her back, hell bent on ignoring him.

"Whoa what's all that about?" Elena asked, curiously.

"I'm a little irritated at him," Caroline admitted.

"Why?"

"We were suppose to go out after the game last night, but he forgot. He said that Josh and Grant wanted him to go to the Grill and shoot some pool."

"Ouch," Elena said, her eyebrows furrowing. "That doesn't sound like Matt."

And it didn't. Matt never forgot about their dates and on the rare occasions he did, he apologized and fixed it, whether it was rescheduling or just coming over and hanging out. He never blatantly blew her off for his friends. Until last night, that is.

"Well, it was," Caroline said. "And as far as I'm concerned, he's on restriction."

Elena giggled. "Restriction?" she repeated. "From what?"

Caroline gave Elena an evil smile and slipped off her sundress, revealing a very cute, very revealing orange bikini. "Everything," Caroline said, doing a little spin.

"Matt's drooling," Elena said, giggling. But Caroline only vaguely heard her because just when she stopped spinning she saw Tyler. She locked eyes with him and couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. He gave her a small smile and wave in return, so obviously trying not to stare at her.

"Good," she said, still locking eyes with Tyler. "I hope it hurts knowing he won't get to do _anything_. Bikini on or off."

"You're evil," Elena said, approvingly. "Just so you know."

"They don't call me 'Queen Bitch' for nothing," Caroline sing-songed. "Hey, I'll be right back."

"Okay," Elena said, a question mark on her face.

Caroline strutted towards Tyler, whose jaw was slowly dropping, as was everyone else's she passed. She was satisfied when she saw Matt with an awed look on his face. It was quickly replaced with jealously when he saw who she was approaching.

"Hey, Tyler," she said, giving him a wide smile.

"Hey, Care," he said, returning with a small one.

"I just wanted to thank you again for the ride," she said, genuinely. She really did appreciate it. It would have sucked to had to walk home.

"Really, it wasn't a problem," he said, looking almost bashful.

"I have your hoody in Bonnie's car if you want it," she said.

He shook his head. "Its fine. I'll get it later."

She shrugged. "Okay."

He looked at her, a curious expression on his face, like he was trying to read her or figure something out.

"What?" she asked, feeling blood begin to burn in her cheeks.

"Nothing," he said, quickly. "You look really pretty by the way."

She blushed even harder and happened to notice that he wasn't wearing a shirt. His abs were just as impressive as Damon's, if not more _and_ were tanner. "Thanks," she said.

"Caroline!" Elena yelled. She turned to see the brunette motion her over. "Come here!"

"Sorry," she said, giving him an apologetic look. "Duty calls."

"Yeah, sure," he said. "See you."

She smiled before hurrying off to see what Elena needed.

The next three hours were busy. Tons of people came- mostly from school- and Caroline wondered if it was because of their superb car cleaning skills or their total lack of clothing. Whatever it was, it brought in some money so who was she to complain? Car after car appeared, keeping them all pretty busy. The whole "bring Damon so tons of girls show" plan was successful. He brought in almost twenty customers, who were less than thrilled when they had to be passed over to someone else because Damon wasn't Superman and couldn't clean that many cars in a reasonable amount of time. Caroline just got done cleaning her fifth car and was happy for the break. She seemed to be the only one who wasn't cleaning a car right now.

"Excuse me, miss," she heard someone say behind her.

She turned, a pleasant smile on her face. Her smile cut off for a second as she took in the man in front of her. He was probably in his mid thirties and was fairly tall. He had dark brown hair, shaved short and dark brown eyes. What made her smile falter was the long, jagged scar stretching from the right corner of his right eye to the right corner of his lip. It reminded her of the joker from Batman.

She instantly felt bad for staring and smiled wider, though it was a little forced. She looked him directly in his eyes, avoiding staring at the scar. He probably didn't like people staring at it; it was rude.

"Good afternoon," Caroline said, pleasantly. "Here to have your car washed, I assume?"

He nodded, smiling at her. "That's the plan."

"Did you already pay at the table?" she asked.

He nodded. "I did."

"Alright," she said. "Where's your car?"

He pointed to a black car, which Caroline instantly recognized as a Mercedes Benz, though she couldn't place the year or model. Matt had taught her basic brands of cars and how to recognize them, but gave up when Caroline asked him why they were named after letters like "SL." She thought it was a legitimate question but he had shook his head and rolled his eyes, ending the learning session.

"Impressive," she said, heading toward it, the man right beside her. "I assume you aren't from around here?"

"I'm not," he said, grinning almost slyly. "How'd you know?"

"Small town," she explained. "I would have recognized you."

"Well, that's ashamed," he said.

She had no idea if he meant it was ashamed she didn't know him or something else, so she chose not to respond. She got the hose and wet down the car, feeling him staring at her ass while she did it. She rolled her eyes.

"There's a snack bar set up over there if you would like to grab something while you wait," she hinted. What she really wanted to say was "Stop staring at my ass you old perv" but that was bad business so she didn't.

"I'm fine," he said, smiling creepily at her.

She shrugged. "Alright."

"So what's your name, darling?" he asked.

_Oh great_, she thought. She almost didn't tell him but figured what harm could it do? He was just a lonely man who had nothing better to do than stare at seventeen year old girls' asses while they washed his car. "Caroline," she said.

"That's a very pretty name," he commented. "Its means 'womanly' I believe."

She stopped herself from laughing out loud. "Womanly?" That was the best this guy could do? "Oh, really?" she said. "I didn't know."

"A gorgeous girl like yourself must have a boyfriend," he said.

"I do," she said, ignoring the "gorgeous" comment. She so was not thanking an old guy for perving on her.

"The dark haired one over there, I assume," he said, jerking his head in the direction of Tyler, who was washing a car and talking to a golden browned hair man she recognized as Mason. He looked away when Caroline looked at him.

"No, actually," Caroline said. "Not him."

"He likes you then."

Caroline shrugged, though she wanted to ask him why he thought that. "He's just my friend."

"Does he know that?" the man asked, getting way too nosy for her taste.

"Well, since I'm dating his best friend, I'm guessing yes," she said, a little annoyance leaking into her voice.

If he heard it, he ignored it. "Let me take you out sometime, Caroline," he said, a wide smile on his face.

Caroline stared at him, incredulously. "No thank you," she said, trying to remain as polite as possible when she really just wanted to tell him to fuck off.

"Aw, why not?" he almost whined.

"I have a boyfriend," she reminded him. "And I don't date strangers who are twice as old as I am."

"I don't have to be a stranger, Caroline," he said. The way he said he name made her shiver and not in a good way.

"I said no," she said, seriously. She was no longer smiling, remembering how when she was a freshman the sex ED teacher said to stand up straight, don't smile and say "no." Because "no doesn't mean no if you're smiling."

"No need to be difficult, Caroline," he said, giving her another sly smile. It made chills run down her spine and it screamed "danger."

"You're the only one being difficult," she said, fear beginning to take residence in her stomach.

"Such a beautiful girl like yourself needs someone who can show them what they deserve. They need a man, not a boy."

"What?" she asked, though her instincts were screaming at her to run, she couldn't help but ask. Her bitch side was taking over. "A man like yourself?"

He nodded once.

"A man doesn't hit on girls young enough to be their daughter," Caroline said. "I think you should leave."

He took a step closer to her and she took one back.

"I'll give you your money back," Caroline said. "But you need to leave right now."

He took another step forward, which she mirrored. She hit his car and jumped. He took another step forward.

"I don't think so Caroline," he said, shaking his head. "You're being very rude you know."

"Leave or I'm calling the cops," she said, her voice beginning to shake.

"No need for that," he said. He was too close to her, barely a foot. If he took another step closer, they'd be touching. She looked around to see if anyone was watching. A few girls across the parking lot were watching, an eyebrow raised. She didn't see anything else because at that moment he reached out and touched her.

A scream bubbled in her throat.

* * *

><p><strong>*A few minutes earlier*<strong>

"Have you told her yet?" Mason asked, looking at Caroline who was talking to an older man with a sick scar across his face.

"Told who what?" he asked, though he already knew.

Mason rolled his eyes and sighed. "Caroline and you know what."

That he did. "I'm not sure I'm telling her," Tyler admitted.

"What do you mean you're not telling her?" Mason exclaimed, causing a few heads to turn in his directions. Tyler shushed him. In a lower voice he said, "Tyler, you have to tell her."

"Look, Mason," Tyler said, though his eyes never left Caroline. "I can't just ruin her life like that."

He'd been struggling with the decision of telling Caroline she was his mate since he found out last night. He hadn't gotten any sleep at all. He was too busy thinking about it. Never in a million years would he have thought Caroline Forbes would be his mate. It was just too weird. He couldn't just drag her into this world.

"You're not ruining her life," Mason argued. "If anything you're doing her a huge favor."

"How?" Tyler asked, shooting him an incredulous look, before looking back at Caroline. To his surprise, she was looking at him so he quickly looked down.

"Because everything you feel when your around her, she feels in some way too when she's around you," Mason explained. "The only difference is she doesn't know why she feels it."

He had to admit, it made him feel a little good that she was somewhat feeling what he was feeling, but not enough. "I can't do that to her," he said, shaking his head and a smile forming on his lips as Caroline's face filled with annoyance at something he didn't see. It was probably the guy hitting on her.

"Tyler," Mason said, more seriously. "She needs to know. She's probably confused."

Tyler shook his head, his eyebrows raising as Caroline turned to the man with a pissed off expression on her face.

"Tyler, listen to me!" Mason exclaimed. "Has she been in your dreams lately? Because guess what, she's having those dreams too. You're sharing dreams with her."

Tyler barely processed that information because the man was getting closer to Caroline, who was beginning to look a little scared. Tyler dropped the sponge he had been holding and stood up, watching them. He had already begun to walk toward them when the guy reached out a hand and touched her hair, causing her to scream. Tyler was there in a second, pulling the guy off of her and pushing him a few feet away. He quickly stepped in front of her and shot the guy a death stare.

"Have you lost your mind?" Tyler asked, anger burning inside of him.

"I don't believe this concerns you, Tyler," the man said. Tyler didn't even bother to ask how the man knew his name. Anyone relatively close to them were watching them, debating what to do.

"When you touch her," Tyler said, "It concerns me."

"Does she _belong_ to you, Tyler?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Leave right now, or I'm going to kick your ass," Tyler warned. He turned to Caroline, who looked like she was about to burst out in tears. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. "Hey, its okay," he said, as she grabbed onto him. She was shaking. "You're okay."

He shot the guy a look and said, "Leave" before leading Caroline away from the car and the him. The guy stared at them a moment before opening his car door and slipping in. Tyler didn't stay long enough to watch the guy pull away. He was too busy pulling Caroline away from everyone and leading her to the awning over the gym doors. She was holding onto his arm for dear life.

"Its okay," he said, softly. "He's not going to hurt you."

Her face began to break before finally a small sound escaped her lips and tears began to fall down her face. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face into his chest.

"Its okay," he repeated. "I've got you."

* * *

><p>I don't know about you, but hero Tyler totally turned me on…<p>

Review(;


	7. Chapter 7

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 7

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

**Author's Note:** Aww shucks XD You guys are just too nice! Thank you for all the feedback! Well I'm all moved so updates should be quicker. So was anyone else extremely disappointed with the season finale of VD? I was. The only good thing that happened was that bed scene with Damon and Elena and Stefan leaving :D (sorry Stelena fans). Tyler wasn't even in the finale! Ugh, September is a loooooong ways away. Anyways, Enjooooooy!

* * *

><p>One thing was for sure, Caroline never thought she'd feel safe in Tyler Lockwood's arms. Until she was actually in them, the thought of his strong arms wrapped around her was weird and alien. But now that they were, it felt weirdly right, like somehow nothing could touch her when he was holding her. She needed that feeling right now, the sense of security and safety. She was still trembling with fear at the events that had just taken place. Even though the creepy man with the scar was gone, she still felt his sly, dangerous presence lurking over her. She was probably overreacting, but no one had ever scared her so much in her life. She'd dealt with pervy old guys plenty of times, but this time had been different. It had felt too personal, like when he looked at her, he was seeing so much more than what color mascara she was wearing and the color of her eyes. Even though she had only felt his touch for a second, she still felt the burning heat of his fingers on her skin.<p>

There were still tears rolling down her cheeks and the shallow part of herself was happy she wore waterproof makeup, but the other part didn't give a damn what she looked like. Being scared beyond belief usually had that effect.

"Its okay, Care," Tyler's strangely soothing voice said, rubbing a small circle on her bare back with his thumb. "He's gone."

She pulled back enough to glimpse at his tan, angular face, which was looking down at her with concern etched into it's features. "You're always saving me lately," she pointed out, her voice sounding small and weak.

He smiled slightly. "Someone's got to."

She laughed, it coming out slightly hysterical before ending in a sound resembling a small sob. "I guess that's true."

He wrapped his arms around her once again and she didn't even think about the fact that she was pressed up against him in a barely there bikini and he was wearing nothing but swim trunks. All she thought was she felt safe and his skin was really warm.

"Caroline!" a familiar, worried voice called out and she looked up, seeing Matt headed toward her. His step faltered slightly when he saw who's arms she was in but quickly recovered and made his way to her. She pulled back from Tyler, ignoring the cold, prickling feeling that swam across her skin, chasing off the warmness of him, and wiped her cheeks. Matt's arms were around her within seconds, hugging her to him. She couldn't help but notice Matt's arms were surprisingly less comforting than Tyler's were. She tried to shake that thought out of her head though, her explanation being she had been upset with Matt all day. She was mad at him so why would his touch make her feel better?

"Caroline what happened back there?" he asked, pulling back to look down at her. His blue eyes were filled with so much concern she almost forgot the fact that he had been staring at Dana's ass while they washed a car together. She may have been mad at him, but she still kept close tabs on the guy she was dating because regardless of her opinion of him at that moment, they were still dating.

"Nothing," she said, pulling away from him. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold despite the temperature of the day.

"That didn't look like nothing Care," Matt disagreed.

"Well it was," she said, holding up her chin and her voice developing a hint of bitchyness thinking of Matt's wandering eyes. "It was just some creepy guy being… creepy. Its fine. _I'm _fine."

"You don't look fine," he pointed out, examining her puffy eyes and wet face.

"Well I am," she said, stubbornly. Then she sighed and added, "I will be, okay? I just needed a few minutes."

Matt's blue eyes shifted over to Tyler, who was standing there, looking uncomfortable and awkward. "I see that," he said. Neither Tyler nor Caroline missed the suggestion in his voice or the don't-ever-touch-my-girlfriend-again look Matt gave Tyler. Not so subtle at all.

She wasn't sure exactly why, but that look irritated her to no end. And it was a little hypocritical- even she would admit that. She was pissed at him for staring at Dana's ass, and yet she had just been half naked in Tyler's arms. Granted, the situations were different, but still. Not to mention Caroline was always the possessive, jealous one in the relationship. Matt was usually the laid back, secure one. Even a hint of jealousy from him was shocking.

Before she could respond with something that would most likely start an argument, she saw Bonnie and Elena coming at them, both looking equally concerned and confused. Neither of them noticed the thick tension between her and the two boys as they pushed right through it to get to Caroline. She was in a Bonnie-Elena sandwich, getting the breath squeezed out of her within seconds.

Bonnie asked, "Are you okay?" at the same time Elena said, "What happened? We were way out in the parking lot so we didn't see anything."

"I'm fine," Caroline repeated, though she still felt less than fine. "It was just some scary old guy hitting on me."

"That could not just of been being hit on," Elena disagreed, anger flashing through her brown doe eyes.

God, was that true.

Caroline was starting to feel a little overwhelmed with all the attention and the crowd of people who had gathered close to hear what was happening. Sure, she liked attention sometimes but this was past her comfort zone. "Really guys," she said, trying to sound a little more calm. "I'm okay. He just scared me."

"Care," Elena began.

Thankfully, Tyler must of seen her discomfort with the situation and stepped in to save her. "She'll be okay," he said, confidently, though the worry was still present in his brown eyes. "I think she just wants a little space."

Caroline shot him a thankful, relieved look while Matt and Elena both gave him a hard, annoyed look. Bonnie just stood there, looking torn at what to do.

"He's right," Caroline said, nodding. "I'm just going to run to the bathroom, get cleaned up and then I'll be right back out to help."

"Are you sure?" Matt asked, still looking more annoyed than concerned.

"Yes," she said, confidently. "Just everyone go back to washing cars. Sexy Suds isn't over yet."

Matt nodded before sauntering away without looking back. Elena was still looking at Caroline with concern. Bonnie tugged her on the brunette's arm, shooting Caroline a look that clearly said: "We'll talk about this later" and then glancing at Tyler. Finally, Elena let Bonnie drag her back to a beat up blue sedan. Caroline finally breathed.

"Thanks," she told Tyler.

He nodded. A look of hesitation crossed his face before disappearing. He took a step forward, his warm fingers just barely touching her arm. He was close enough to whisper in her ear, which he did. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"I'm still freaked," she admitted, wondering why she told him the truth and not everyone else. "But right now I really just want to clean up so I can finish and leave."

"Okay," he said, dropping his hand and taking a step back. "If you need anything just holler."

She nodded. "I will."

He looked at her for the briefest moment and for once, she found herself looking back with the same level of curiosity his eyes held, rather than getting annoyed and uncomfortable. She was willing to swear on her life something passed through his eyes, but it disappeared so quickly she couldn't give the emotion a name. He looked down at the ground before nodding, and then turning to walk away. She watched him walk for a moment before sighing. She probably looked like a mess.

She did a quick sweep of the parking lot just to make sure there were no black Mercedes Benz before turning to the door that lead into the gym. She could go through there to get to the bathrooms, which were just outside of the gym's door in the actual school. She pushed through the double doors, shivering as the cool air of the gym met her bare skin. The school kept the gym absolutely freezing. As she walked past the pushed up bleachers, she ignored the bad feeling settling inside of her, like someone was watching her. She was being paranoid. Period. She finally made it to the opposite side and she pushed open the doors, stepping into the hallway. School was so much creepier when no one was around. Usually it was bright and filled with people, laughing and talking. Now it was dark and completely silent except for the sound of her flip flops hitting the floor.

She was right about probably looking like a mess. She looked pretty horrible. Her eyes were red and puffy and her whole face was either splotchy or pale. She internally kicked herself for not bringing a makeup bag even though it didn't really make sense, and wadded up a couple of brown paper towels. She wet them and then pressed them to each of her eyes, willing the puffiness to go down. After a few minutes, her eyes retuned to their normal color and the red splotches all over her face turned as pale as the rest of her. She still didn't look like herself, but it was certainly an improvement.

She ambled out of the bathroom and into the hall, that feeling creeping up on her again. Like before, she ignored it and walked through the gym doors, the coolness making her shiver again.

Someone was watching her. She could feel it. The hair on the back of her neck rose and goose bumps that had nothing to do with the coldness of the gym formed on her arms, then slowly covered the rest of her body. She froze in place, not sure whether to run or call for help.

_If you need anything just holler._

Would he be able to hear her? She didn't think so. Instead of sticking around, she decided to half run, half walk toward the door leading outside. She heard something and froze, whirling around. Nothing. She turned back around and jumped, letting out a girly squeal that resembled a mouse being squeezed to death.

"Caroline its me!" a familiar voice said. "Calm down."

Damon's wide blue eyes stared at her, slightly amused and slightly worried. The amusement didn't surprise her at all. Damon always looked like he was on the verge of laughing, as if he was so much bigger than everything and everyone around him. She passed that off as him being an egotistical jerk. The worry, however, was not so common for Damon. He was all jerk, all the time. He didn't do worry. At least, she'd never seen it.

"Damon?" she asked, sounding breathless.

He nodded.

"What are you doing in here?" she snapped, feeling embarrassed and still a little scared. That combination usually resulted in anger.

He jerked his head in the direction of his arms, which were loaded down with towels. "We ran out of towels," he explained. "Matt said there would be some in the guy's locker room."

"Oh," she said, relieved.

He looked her over once, but not in a sexual manner. "What was all that about earlier with Scarface?" Damon asked, his eyes thoughtful.

She couldn't help but shiver. "I don't know," she said, honestly, wondering why Damon cared at all. "He was just being… creepy and touchy."

His eyes still held a touch of worry, but his lips pulled up into a brilliant smile. "At least you had Lockwood to help save the day. You were holding onto his arm _quite_ tightly."

"Was not!" she exclaimed, feeling heat rush to her cheeks, only proving how right he was. She had been holding on pretty tightly but could anyone blame her?

"Was to," he sing-songed.

"Was. Not."

He shook his head. "Was to."

"Was- you know what?" she asked, shaking her head at her idiocy. "I'm done. Think what you want."

"Oh I will," he promised. "And Matt thinks so too."

She sighed. "I'm not dealing with Matt and his insecurities right now," she said. She never thought she'd say "Matt" and "insecurities" in the same sentence.

"Ouch," Damon said, holding a hand to his heart. "That was harsh. But just so you know, Matt's nurturing his ego right now with a cute little brunette in a very revealing bikini right now. What's her name? Danielle? Danni?"

"Dana?" Caroline asked, her anger flaring.

"That's the one!" he said, nodding his raven head. "Was he eyeing her…."

She felt her blood pressure rise. That little- no, she wasn't doing this right now. She took a deep breath and shrugged. "Whatever," she said. "As long as he's looking and not touching, I won't have to neuter him."

"That's a little hypocritical don't you think, Blondie?" Damon asked, raising a dark eyebrow. "You were doing a lot more than just looking with his best friend."

She gave him a look that could quite literally kill. "I know this may be a alien concept to you Salvatore, what with being a man whore and all, but some people can touch without it being sexual."

He chewed that over for a second, his eyebrows furrowing over the ice that were his eyes. "Did you just call me a whore?" he asked after a few seconds.

She puffed out a breath. Such a pretty face wasted on such an ass. "Yeah, I did. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to attend to than, well, _you_." She turned and made her way to the door, his dark laughter echoing behind her.

The rest of the car wash was boring and for that, Caroline was extremely grateful. Just like Salvawhore (yes she knew the nick name was immature, but she just couldn't help herself) had said, Matt was looking Dana up and down and it was in a very sexual manner. She knew it was to get back at her. Matt didn't do things like that. But still, it didn't lower her irritation level. Elena had made her promise to call her later and tell her exactly what happened. Bonnie had agreed with her and said she should be expecting a three way call later. Tyler was far out in the parking lot, talking lowly with his uncle Mason, who she couldn't help but notice was quite attractive. Clearly, Tyler got his looks from that side of the family. He glanced at her briefly and she gave him a small smile. After cleaning everything up, Bonnie took Caroline home. She didn't bombard her with questions. She must have sensed that Caroline didn't want to talk. She was perfectly fine with that.

Her mom's patrol car was in the driveway when Bonnie dropped her off, which surprised her. She gave Bonnie a quick hug and a thank you, in return getting a you-are-spilling-everything-later look. Caroline grabbed Tyler's hoody and then headed inside.

"Mom?" Caroline called out.

"In the kitchen," Liz hollered.

Caroline walked down the hall and into the kitchen, seeing her mom sitting at the table in her uniform, a sandwich in front of her. Caroline sat down across from her, involuntarily hugging the hoody to her chest.

"How did the fund raiser go?" Liz asked, looking only slightly curious.

"Fine," Caroline lied. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to tell her mom about what happened with Scarface as Damon had put it. "We raised a lot of money."

"Good," Liz said, nodding, looking only half there.

Caroline sighed. "Working on a case?" Her mom was only this disinterested when she was thinking about something. That something was always work.

"Cody woke up today," Liz said.

Caroline's eyes widened. "Is he okay? Does he remember what attacked him?"

"He's stable," Liz said. "The doctor wouldn't allow him to be questioned today. I'm going by tomorrow."

Caroline bit her lip. "Do you think I could come with you? To visit him?"

Liz's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You two are friends?"

"No," Caroline said, without thinking. Quickly she added, "I mean, we aren't super close but I want to see how he's doing."

"I'm sure that will be fine as long as he's feeling up to it after I question him," Liz said.

"Okay, good," Caroline said, her mood improving a little bit. She was about to conduct her own little investigation.

"Is that Matt's?"

"Huh?"

"The sweatshirt," Liz said, nodding in the direction of the hoody in her arm.

"Oh," Caroline said. "No, its Tyler's."

"Lockwood?" she asked, a disapproving look forming on her face.

Caroline nodded.

"Why do you have Tyler Lockwood's sweatshirt?" Liz asked.

"Because I was cold and he wasn't," Caroline said, not getting what the big deal was. "He told me I could borrow it."

"I didn't know you two talked."

Jeez what was up with people today? Was it such a foreign concept that she was sort of, kind of friends with Tyler Lockwood? Apparently. "We don't. Not really. I mean, he was just being nice."

Her mom frowned by dropped it, leaving Caroline curious. "I'm going back to the station in a few minutes. Are you okay with getting dinner?"

Caroline resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She'd been cooking her own meals since she was eleven. She was pretty sure she could manage. "Yeah, of course."

Liz nodded once and got up, dumping her sandwich in the garbage and setting her plate it the sink. "Call me if there is an emergency," Liz called.

"Will do!"

She heard the door shut and she sighed.

**~DLS~**

She got the phone call around 8:30 that night. She was laying on her bed, snuggled up underneath the covers with her hair up and a comfy pair of pajamas when her cell phone rang, blasting her current favorite song.

"Hello?"

"Alright, explain," Bonnie said, not bothering with a greeting.

"Please?" Elena added, causing all three of them to laugh.

She explained to them what happened exactly: creepy guy flirting, creepy guy touching, Tyler rescuing her and then they were pretty much caught up.

"What an ass!" Elena exclaimed. "I can't believe anyone would do that! I mean, he could be your father!"

"Why don't you report him?" Bonnie asked, her voice more calm than Elena's.

"What would I say?" Caroline asked, incredulously. "He scared me? That's not going to get him into any trouble."

"Your mom's the sheriff," Elena pointed out, like she wasn't aware of that little fact. "You could probably say something to her. She could bring him in, scare him a little bit."

"No, I'd just rather forget all about it," Caroline said, truthfully. "Its not like I'll ever see him again. And if I do…"

"You can always have Tyler kick his ass," Elena said, teasingly.

Caroline sighed but felt a small smile tug on her lips. "Maybe I will," she joked.

"I think he has a little crush on you," Elena said.

"No he does not!" Caroline said. "He would have done the same thing for you or Bonnie."

"Whatever, Care," Elena said, giggling. "I think he likes you."

"You didn't like two days ago!" Caroline said, thinking back to their plan that had blown up in her face.

"Well, things change."

"What about Matt?" Bonnie asked.

"What about him?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know," she said, a strange tone to her voice. "He looked a little… jealous today."

Caroline sighed. She felt like she had done nothing but the last few hours. "Matt's being… complicated right now," she explained.

"He's probably upset that his best friend had his hands all over his girlfriend," Bonnie pointed out.

"Tyler did not have his hands all over me… well he did but not in that way," Caroline said. "He was just comforting me. I was kind of freaking out, you know."

"I think you should talk to him," Elena said, all joking out of her voice. "You don't want to mess up what you two have over a misunderstanding."

"I will," Caroline said. "Tomorrow. As soon as I get off the phone with you two I'm going to bed."

They talked for a little while longer before finally hanging up. Caroline was absolutely exhausted and didn't even bother to get up and brush her teeth. She would usually rather eat her own fingers than do that, but she was just too tired to care. She snuggled up underneath her covers, closing her eyes and immediately drifting off to sleep.

_She was in the wood. It was dark and the towering trees held a sense of foreboding and danger that made Caroline shiver. She couldn't remember why she was in the woods. She couldn't really remember anything. Her whole mind felt a little dazed and hazy, like she was delusional. But delusional or not, she knew she didn't want to be in the woods at night, so she began walking- praying it lead to the road. _

_The feeling of déjà vu was almost overwhelming. She felt like she had been here before. Not just the woods- she'd gone there all the time for parties, but this path and this night. _

_She heard the snap of a twig behind her and she whirled around to see what it was. There was nothing but trees and dirt and leaves. She quickly told herself the sound had been an animal walking away. She turned back around to continue her path when she saw movement in her peripheral vision. _

_And then the sound of another twig breaking echoed behind her. She turned around again, her throat closing with fear at what she would see. She came face to face with golden eyes. They weren't yellow. They were gold. And not human in the least. She could see the smirk in them before she saw the rest of the face. He was fairly dark, with short hair and a scar traveling down his eye to his lips, which were pulled up in a deadly smile. _

_And then everything went black. _

* * *

><p>Tyler woke with a jolt. He was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He had been having a dream or a nightmare or something. He couldn't remember what it was though. He glanced at his clock. 11:02.<p>

Still breathing heavily, he laid back down and ran his hands over his face, exhausted. He couldn't get a good night's sleep lately. He hadn't been able to in two weeks. And things were just getting worse. The full moon was on Friday and that made his stomach clench and he wanted to throw up. Then there was the whole little thing about Caroline being his "mate" as Mason had called her.

He couldn't understand why out of everyone in the entire school- world even, that it was Caroline. She was his _best friend's girlfriend_. That was so fucked up. He couldn't do that to Matt. He couldn't do that to Caroline. Like he told Mason earlier, maybe he could just not tell her. How else would she find out? But then Mason's little warning from last nice echoed this his head.

"_You two are connected in a way you can't imagine. You feel what she feels, she feels what you feel. When you're hurting, she's hurting. When you're happy, she's happy and vice versa. You two are a part of each other now. You can't pretend otherwise."_

If he wasn't so confused and freaked out, he would have laughed, because it was almost too corny not to. But it was real and wasn't funny. If he told her, how would she react? He knew how she would react. She'd freak out. Caroline didn't believe in that kind of stuff. He didn't believing that kind of stuff until recently. She wouldn't accept it even if she did believe him. He couldn't drag her into this.

His head hurt.

His cell phone began vibrating and he glanced over. Speak of the devil. Caroline was calling him.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey… I didn't wake you did I?" she asked, quietly.

"No, I was awake," he said, sitting up. "What's up? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine I was just…" she trailed off.

He waited for a few seconds but she didn't say anything. "Caroline?"

"Cody's awake," she said, suddenly. "My mom's going to question him tomorrow and she said I could probably see him. Do you want to come?"

"Umm…" Why did Caroline want to see Cody? She couldn't stand him. They argued all the time. "Yeah, sure," he said, anyways. Then he wanted to kick himself. Sure he wanted to see her- to have any excuse to be around her, but had he not just forced it into his head that he would not drag her into this?

"Good," she said, sounding relieved and even a little happy, much to his enjoyment and frustration. "She's going around ten."

"Okay, sounds good."

"Do you want to meet there or…?"

"I'll meet you there at ten," he said. The last thing he needed was to be in a car alone with her.

"Alright, I'll see you then," she said. "Night, Ty."

"Night Care."

* * *

><p>Sorry, not much action or Forwood in this chapter. But next chapter will make up for it. Its pretty much all Caroline and Tyler.<p>

Review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 8

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the reviews! I'm REALLY sorry for the long wait. I've been having some serious writer's block with this story. So if you haven't already found it, I started a new Forwood fic: _Shh, Just Go With It_. Its very, very, VERY different from this one, just a heads up. So check it out!

* * *

><p>Thankfully, the rest of the night was not filled with goose bump inducing dreams about golden eyes, woods and inevitably, Caroline's death. She did dream, but it was much like her usual dreams of cheerleading and kissing her favorite celebrity at the time, which was Ryan Reynolds by the way. She felt more rested than she had in a few days and she was grateful for that. Maybe the bags under her eyes she had seen developing over the last few days weren't permanent after all.<p>

She got up much earlier than she initially would on a typical Sunday morning: 8 o'clock. She probably wouldn't physically need an hour and forty five minutes to get ready to go to a hospital, but mentally she needed it. She needed uninterrupted, quiet time inside her own head to reflect on the very recent past. Cody was attacked, Tyler had suddenly stopped being a dick and started being important, her and Matt were more or less fighting and she had the living hell scared out of her. It seemed impossible that all this occurred over the span of four days. Maybe that was why she was having a difficult time wrapping her head around it all.

Normal felt like a lifetime ago. Normal wasn't blood, or scars or calling Tyler Lockwood after a bad dream. When she woke up from the dream about the man with golden eyes, she had been terrified. The days of crawling into bed with her mom after a bad dream were long past, and she would feel silly calling Elena or Bonnie. She and Matt were fighting, not that she would have called him anyways. If she was being honest, those options didn't present themselves in her mind when she'd woken up. The first thing she did was reach for her cell phone, dialing the first number that popped into her head: his. By the second ring she was praying he wouldn't pick up, so she wouldn't have to explain why she was calling him. She could have hung up, but she just couldn't bring herself to it. Then he answered and she couldn't bring herself to tell him why she actually called, so she made up one. It was a pretty good one too. She was proud of herself.

She didn't know exactly what she thought she was going to get out of talking to Cody. What was he going to tell her that he wouldn't tell the cops? Cody couldn't stand her. He might not even talk to her at all. But she would try it because she wanted to know what happened that night. Maybe it was because of the weird dreams, or maybe it was just human nature, but she was dying to know.

After taking a shower and blow drying her hair, she smoothed her hair back into a ponytail and did her makeup. She put on a pair of Skinny jeans and a short sleeve white shirt with a blue scarf. When she felt like she was presentable enough, she went downstairs.

The clock read 9:17, but her mom was fully dressed in her police uniform and ready to go.

"If you're ready, I'd like to go ahead and go," Liz said. She was using _that_ voice. That voice meant she was doing what she wanted regardless, and only sounded like she was giving Caroline a choice.

She sighed. "Yeah, let's go."

As they walked out of the door, she sent Tyler a text.

* * *

><p><strong>Change of plans, sorry. We're leaving for the hospital now. Can you still come?<strong>

Tyler cursed. He hadn't even gotten out of bed yet, let alone gotten ready to leave. Maybe he should just cancel. Who cared? Cody wasn't his friend, nor was he his responsibly. He didn't want anything bad to happen to the guy, but in all honestly, he didn't particularly care either. It would be so easy- just text her back with an excuse. She's a big girl, she'll be okay to go to the hospital. And anyways, she was going with her mom.

But damn it… sighing, he texted her back.

**Yeah, sure. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. **

If he skipped a shower… and breakfast… and broke the speed limit. Yeah, he'd make it in fifteen minutes.

He was downstairs in five, but of course, Mason couldn't just let him leave.

"Hey Tyler, come here! I wanna talk to you for a minute."

Tyler walked to the kitchen where he heard Mason opening up cabinets and drawers. "What are you doing?" Tyler asked, flatly. Mason was opening up a cabinet, looking around. He closed the door and moved on, not having found what he was looking for. Jesus, the guy thought he owned the house.

"Oh, looking for something," Mason said, shrugging.

"Like?"

Mason shook his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Mason, I live here," Tyler pointed out, like this might not be obvious. "I know where everything is."

Mason huffed like being asked what he was looking for was the most horrible, inconvenient thing he'd ever had to deal with. Tyler wanted to scream, break something and kick his uncle out of his house. And not in that order either.

"A pen," Mason said. "I'm looking for a pen."

Tyler looked at him evenly. He was lying. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew. Mason wasn't looking for a pen, but he'd wonder what the hell Mason was snooping for later. He had somewhere to be.

"Top drawer to the left of the fridge. Can I go now?"

"No," Mason said, shaking his head. He didn't make a move toward the drawer. "I need to talk to you about something."

Tyler sighed. "Be responsible, the full moon is coming up, talk to Caroline. Did I cover it?"

Mason narrowed his eyes. "No, smartass, you didn't."

Tyler raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Then what?"

"Yesterday, when that guy was harassing Caroline, he said your name."

Tyler felt his temper simmer as he remembered. "So?" he asked.

"Do you know him?" Mason asked.

Tyler shook his head. "Nope."

Mason sighed like the point he was trying to get at was painfully obvious and Tyler was just too naive to get it. "Then how did he know your name?"

"I don't know. Maybe Caroline told him?"

"Why would Caroline tell him?" Mason asked, doubtfully.

"I don't know. I'm going to meet her at the hospital, so I'll talk to her about then."

"The hospital?"

"Yeah, Cody can have visitors now."

"Are you going to tell her while you're at it?"

"Nope," Tyler said and turned around, heading to the door.

"Tyler!" Mason called after him, but he was already outside.

* * *

><p>Caroline glanced down at the clock on her phone. It was a few minutes past ten and Tyler still hadn't shown up. She couldn't feel irritated because she did say she would meet him at ten, but she was starting to get a little impatient. Her mom was talking to Cody's doctor about his injuries and Caroline saw it as the perfect opportunity to sneak in. She wanted to talk to him before the police did. She'd just have to do this without Tyler.<p>

Making sure her mom wasn't paying any attention to her, she stood from her seat and walked quietly down the hall to his room. His door was closed, so she peaked in through the window. His eyes were closed, but his fingers kept moving, making her think he was awake and not just twitching.

She slipped in, closing the door behind her and closed the shades just for good measure. She smiled, feeling very proud of her sneaking skills. She always knew they'd come in handy one day.

She sat down in the chair beside Cody and looked him over. His face had a few scratches on them and was pale and his neck was covered in thick gauze pads, but other than that he didn't look completely terrible. "Cody."

His eyes flew open and then when he realized it was her, turned to confusion. "Caroline?" he asked, his voice scratchy and rough.

She nodded. "The one and only."

He rolled his eyes. "Now, I know I died. I don't think I've done anything bad enough to deserve to go to hell, though."

"Shut up," she said, narrowing her eyes. If Cody was insulting her, he was fine. Because it was the next obvious thing to say, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic. Really. I've never felt better."

"Stop being a jack ass," Caroline said. "I'm being nice."

"Fine. I feel like I nearly got my throat ripped out."

She bit her lip, her mind taking her back to the woods and all that blood. She wrapped her arms around herself and said, "Ouch."

"Yeah."

She looked down at her hands. "Do you remember that night?"

"Not really," he admitted. "But the doctor told me you, Stefan and Tyler saved my life."

Caroline shrugged. "I don't like you, but I wasn't going to let you bleed to death."

He sighed, like the words he were about to say were going to physically hurt him. "Thank you, Caroline. For saving my life."

She grinned at the discomfort in his voice. "No problem, Abrams. But just so you know, you owe me."

"Oh, great," he said, groaning. "I can't wait to see what torture you're going to make me go through."

She bit her lip again; she needed to stop or they were going to turn into a mess Chapstick couldn't fix. "Actually, I can think of something right now."

He raised an eyebrow. "Have you looked at me?" he asked incredulously. "I don't think I'm going to be much help for at _least_ another week."

She ignored the sarcasm in his voice and said, "I just need you to tell me something."

"What?" he asked, suspiciously.

"That night that you were attacked… how much do you remember?"

"Why do you want to know?"

She huffed. "Just tell me and you won't owe me."

He still looked suspicious but he said, "It's a little fuzzy, but I remember some."

She resisted the urge to happily yell "yes!" and leaned forward in her chair. "What happened?"

"I was… I was drunk and I walked away from everyone and further out into the woods-"

"Why?" she interrupted.

His eyebrows furrowed. "I don't remember," he said, sounding far away.

"Okay, go on." She wasn't sure how much time she had until her mom came in or noticed she was gone.

"I heard something." He still had that far away, distant look in his eyes. "So I started walking but…"

"But what?" she asked.

He was staring at something she couldn't see, listening to something she couldn't hear. "I saw it."

Caroline's chest felt like it was about to burst. "Cody, what did you see?"

"Eyes," he said, vacantly. "They were… wrong."

She stopped breathing as she listened to him. He was acting like he was in a trance, like he wasn't fully in the room with her. His eyes looked almost glazed and his voice was becoming more and more empty. She wondered if he was going into shock.

"What was wrong with them?" Caroline asked.

"They were yellow. Bright, bright yellow. Gold, even."

Caroline's stomach twisted into a tight, tight ball and her breathing became uneven. _Golden eyes… woods… noises…._

"Are you sure?" she asked because that was just too much to comprehend. "I mean, it was dark out that night and-"

"No, I'm sure."

_Deep breaths, Care, deep breaths._

"Then what happened?"

"I saw someone. A man. The golden eyes belonged to him."

"Cody, a man couldn't have golden eyes…."

He wasn't listening. He again was staring blankly at something she couldn't see. What the hell was wrong with him?

"And then he attacked… but there was something wrong with him… his face… it…."

"What?" she asked. Her voice sounded tight, like she was choking on something.

His eyes were completely empty. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Cody?" she asked. Now her voice sounded scared. She touched his hand. Nothing. "Cody, what happened?"

The steady beeping of the machines suddenly started faster and faster.

"Cody?" she whispered. "What's wrong?"

No reply. Just the steady increasing of the machines.

The door opened suddenly, filling the room with light. Caroline's mom and the doctor she had been talking to came in, looking worried.

"Caroline?" her mom asked, surprised to see her in the room.

"What happened?" the doctor asked, all professional.

Caroline stood up, trying to get out of her way while she fussed over Cody and his blank stare. If the heart monitor wasn't showing his heartbeats, she would think he was dead. He was too still, too blank. Something was seriously wrong with him.

"I- I don't know," Caroline said, her voice shaking. "We were just talking and… and then he just…" she trailed off, motioning to him.

The doctor continued to fuss over him and Liz pulled Caroline out of the room.

"What the hell were you doing in there?" she asked.

Caroline blinked. "I told you, we were talking."

"Caroline-"

"Look, mom," Caroline interrupted. She spotted Tyler come around the corner. She gave him a look that told him to stay and he stopped, his eyebrows raised. Caroline turned back to Liz. "I'm sorry, I should of told you I was going in there."

She sighed. "Will you please just go wait in the car?"

"Actually, I'm riding home with-" she cut off quickly, changing her mind, "-Bonnie."

"Bonnie?" she asked, incredulously. "Bonnie's at the hospital?"

"No, but she's close and she wants me to help her with something so…"

"Alright, go ahead. I'll see you at home later."

_Unlikely_, she thought, but didn't argue. She waited until Liz had her back turned and her attention elsewhere to head in the direction of Tyler, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and a quizzical expression on his face.

"What was all that about?" he asked when she was close enough to hear him.

"That night that Cody was attacked… did you see anything?" she asked, ignoring his question. She was probably crazy for believing Cody, but she did nevertheless. She believed he saw something- someone. And she had to know who it was.

His dark eyebrows furrowed, scrunching up in the middle. "What do you mean?"

She began walking and he followed close in pursuit. "I mean- I don't know- an animal or a person or _something_."

He shook his head. "No, nothing besides Cody."

"Did you hear anything?"

They reached the elevator just as it was opening. They waited for everyone to step out and the doors to close before he answered. "I don't think so," he admitted. "I mean, I was kinda freaked. I wasn't paying attention all that well."

She bit her lip. Could whoever of attacked Cody really gotten away that fast? Tyler said he heard screaming and he left immediately to go see what was going on. Was the man hiding, watching as Tyler drug Cody out of the woods? That made her heart race in her chest. Whoever attacked Cody could have attacked Tyler too.

Tyler touched her arm to bring her back to reality.

She jumped.

"Caroline, are you okay?" he asked, worriedly.

_No, not really_. Actually, she was completely freaking out.

"I talked to Cody," she explained. "I'm sorry I didn't wait for you, but I wanted to talk to him before my mom did."

"Did he say what attacked him?"

She looked up at him. His face was open, patient, listening- waiting for her to tell him what was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was so different about him. Maybe it was something in his eyes or his voice, but he wasn't the same guy she'd known her entire life.

"He was fuzzy on the night, but he said he remembered eyes."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Eyes?"

"He said there was something wrong with them."

"Like what?"

"He just… he just said there was something off about them," she said. Even as the words left her lips, she had no idea why she lied to him. Maybe it was because if she said the words out loud, it would make them more real. It would make her dreams feel more real.

Neither of them spoke until they walked out of the exit, away from people and listening ears, and Caroline realized that she actually wasn't helping Bonnie with anything, so she didn't have a ride.

Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "I'm sorry to ask, but can you take me home?" she asked. "I told my mom Bonnie was picking me up…."

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Hop in."

She got in and took extra care hooking her seatbelt. Really, she was watching Tyler out of the corner of her eye. He looked… deep in thought, like he was trying to solve a difficult puzzle in his head.

When he pulled out of the parking lot, he said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said, happy he was finally talking. He was hardly ever completely silent; it was weird and not very Tyler-ish.

"Yesterday, that guy…" he trailed off when he saw a small shudder go through her.

"Go ahead," she said.

"Did you tell him my name?"

She raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected that. "No, why?"

He swallowed and fidgeted in his seat. "It's probably nothing, but…."

"But what?"

"He knew my name," he said, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "He said it more than once."

A bad feeling she didn't quite understand was forming in the pit of her stomach. "I didn't tell him your name, Tyler."

His hands tightened on the steering wheel just the slightest.

They were completely silent the rest of the way to her house. She was too caught up in her thoughts to notice how Tyler kept looking over at her, watching her bite her lip with curiosity. On top of worrying about what Cody told her, now she had to wonder how that man knew Tyler's name. It was probably a reasonable, logical explanation like he heard someone else say it, but the feeling in her stomach kept telling her to look deeper.

"Caroline?"

"Hmm?" she asked.

He nodded in front of him. They were in her driveway. Oh. She hadn't even noticed the car stop moving.

"Oh," she said, feeling flustered and not like herself. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but after a few seconds, he looked down at his lap and she undid her seatbelt.

Tyler Lockwood was being so damn weird lately.

Just as her fingers were on the door, she felt his warm hand on her other hand, stopping her. She turned back around to face him. He was closer than she expected, leaning forward slightly. She stopped breathing.

"Caroline?"

"Yes?" Her voice sounded breathy and nervous.

"Be careful, okay?" he said. "With everything that's happened… just be careful."

"I will," she said.

He was so close. Just a few inches. He was looking intently into her eyes, like he was looking at more than just the color of her eyes, but it wasn't like how Scarface had looked at her. There was nothing menacing or creepy about Tyler looking into her eyes. It felt comfortable, right even.

She didn't know she had leaned forward until her elbow hit the elbow rest, pulling her back into her body and knocking some sense into her.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?" she asked, suddenly needing to get out of the car. It was too hot in there; she felt like she was choking on heat.

He nodded. "Yeah, sure."

She bounded out of his car as quickly as she could while still staying on her feet. She could feel his eyes on her but when she reached the door and turned around, him and his car were both gone.

She leaned back against the door, eyes wide.

She had been seconds away from kissing him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 9

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her all the time with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. AU.

**Author's Note**: Thank you for the continued support as always. I was out of town for the last week or so, so I didn't have much time to write. I'm going to start putting the days at the beginning of each chapter so you (and I) don't get confused! Happy almost Fourth of July!

* * *

><p>Monday<p>

Seeing Matt the next day made Caroline feel extremely guilty, though for what she wasn't sure. She hadn't done anything guilt worthy. She hadn't _actually_ kissed Tyler. She shouldn't feel like she should tell Matt what happened, or rather, what didn't happen. But she wasn't listening to herself today, so when she spotted Matt between first and second block, she headed toward him with a surge of determination.

And hit an invisible, but very hard, wall when she saw Dana standing beside him, laughing and resting her hand on his shoulder.

Her hackles rose and she planted her sweetest, fakest smile on her face as she began walking toward him again. She was happy to see Dana's smile faltered when she saw Caroline, but her hand remained on Matt's red lettermen's jacket and her face slipped back into a smile, looking away. Bitch. When Dana's gaze returned to Caroline, Matt noticed and turned around to see what captured the brunette's attention.

"Caroline," he said, sounding surprised. "Hey."

She allowed her eyes to narrow the slightest. Why was it so surprising to see his girlfriend at the small school they both attended? Or maybe he just felt like he had been caught doing something wrong. She'd give him points though: he didn't look guilty.

"Hey, Matt," she said, her voice surprisingly calm despite what she was feeling. "Do you think we can talk for a second?"

He hesitated, glancing at Dana, who looked like she was about to start pouting. _Oh grow up! _But he nodded and Dana's hand slipped off his shoulder. "Sure, of course."

She shot the brunette a look and started walking, only stopping when she was sure they would be somewhat out of hearing range. Most people were heading to class, completely ignoring them, but there was always a few of the gossip-whores who listened it, just hoping to get something they could spread around the school like the freaking bubonic plague.

"So what's up?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets and shuffling his feet across the floor.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Just thought I'd say hi," she lied. "I haven't seen you since Saturday."

He was smart enough to look guilty then. "Yeah, sorry I didn't call you yesterday to see if you were okay. I got… caught up with some things."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm fine," she said, the annoyance she was feeling finally leaking into her words.

He sighed. "You're mad."

Screw telling him about almost kissing Tyler. The bottom line was they didn't kiss and Caroline was beginning to see she didn't owe Matt much. "Why would I be mad?" she asked. "I mean, it's not like I expect my boyfriend to call me to check up after being harassed."

He sighed again and he had the audacity to look annoyed. "We both know you're not mad about that."

"Then what am I mad about Matt?" she questioned. Him not calling her did irritate her slightly. On principle, he should have called to make sure she was okay. Even Stefan called her and asked if she was okay. But that wasn't what really irritated her to no end.

"You're mad about Dana." It wasn't a question.

"You mean the skank who had her hands all over you this morning and who was undressing you with her eyes on Saturday?" What Damon told her about Dana and Matt was only reinforced just a few minutes ago. She had believed Damon, but she also kept in mind that Damon was Damon. Who would of thought the day would come when she trusted Damon freaking Salvatore before her own boyfriend?

He huffed, like this was the most annoying conversation he'd ever had. "Caroline, you know I don't like talking to you when you're like this."

Her hands dropped to her hips and she raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"When you're acting insecure."

The word hit her like a physical blow and she found her anger boiling. "Insecure? _Insecure_? Are you kidding me? How is me being mad about a girl flirting with you and you doing nothing about it me being insecure?" She'd be the first to admit she was insecure, but this wasn't her being insecure.

"God, Caroline," he said, lacing his fingers behind his head and closing his eyes. "I can't help it if she flirts with me. It's not like she's the first girl to flirt with me."

"I don't care if someone flirts with you, Matt!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Then what are you so mad about?"

"I'm mad that you just allowed it," she said. "It's Dana we're talking about remember? She doesn't respect boundaries so it's your job to remind her."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You're acting like I'm doing something wrong."

"Not yet."

Anger swelled in his baby blue eyes. "Do you really trust me that little?"

"I don't trust _Dana_." She wasn't sure whether or not she trusted Matt right now, so avoiding the question would probably be best.

"And I don't trust Tyler, but I'm not freaking out about you two spending so much time together," Matt said. He instantly looked like he regretted saying the words.

_So that was what this is all about_, Caroline thought. "Are you _jealous_?" she asked.

"Look, Caroline," he said, some of the anger receding from his voice. "You know how Tyler is."

"He's your best friend."

"And he's impulsive," Matt said. "He doesn't think before he acts."

"I would never do anything with Tyler," Caroline said, though in the back of her head a little voice was asking, _are you sure about that? _"You should know that."

"You are being so hypocritical right now!" Matt exclaimed. It was practically yelled. Caroline looked around to see how many heads turned toward them, but was surprised to see they were completely alone. She hadn't heard the bell ring.

"No, Matt, I'm not because Tyler may have his faults, but you're his best friend and he would never do anything to hurt you. Can you say the same thing for Dana?"

"I can't deal with this right now," Matt said, shaking his head and taking a step back.

Caroline felt her face go completely blank. "How's this? When you're ready to deal with this, give me a call. Until then, don't even think about it?" Her voice was just as empty as her expression. She shook her head at him and turned, walking away.

* * *

><p>Caroline was sitting at a picnic table with Bonnie and Elena at lunch, soaking up as much sun and breathing in as much fresh air as they could. Before long, it would be too cold to eat outside and they would be forced to eat inside their fish smelling, crowded cafeteria with everyone other person they'd loved to avoid.<p>

"Caroline," Elena said, sticking a Dorito into her mouth, "you just finished the last fundraiser!"

Caroline sighed and began poking holes in her sandwich, no longer hungry. "I know, but I feel like I've been slacking." Which was, of course, a total lie. They'd already held two major fundraisers and a couple of smaller ones- all being huge successes. Whenever she felt stressed, she got creative; therefore, planning a fundraiser just seemed like the thing to do.

"You're stressing," Bonnie observed.

Caroline shrugged, picking a piece of sandwich bread out from underneath her fingernail. "Maybe a little bit."

"What happened between you and Matt?" Elena asked. "I saw you guys this morning and you both looked mad."

"I think Matt's jealous that I've been spending some time with Tyler," Caroline admitted.

"Does he have a reason to be jealous?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No way!" she said, a little too quickly. It was practically squeaked. "Not at all!"

Their eyes widened in synchronization. "Are you… did something happen between you two?" Elena asked, Doritos temporality forgotten.

"Yes. No. Kind of?"

"Tell us!" Bonnie exclaimed.

Caroline did a perimeter sweep, making sure no one would be able to hear them. There was a group of guys skate boarding and a girl reading a book, but neither seemed to be paying much attention. Just to be safe, she leaned forward and talked in a hushed voice. "When Tyler dropped me off yesterday from the hospital-"

"Freeze," Elena said, holding up her hands. "The hospital?"

Caroline nodded. "Cody woke up and I wanted to talk to him. I asked Tyler if he wanted to come, but he ran late so I talked to him by myself. Tyler got there right as I was done, so I rode home with him."

"Why did you want to talk to Cody?" Bonnie asked, eyebrows furrowing. "You hate him."

Caroline hesitated. Bonnie and Elena were her best friends, but she didn't feel quite comfortable with telling them about the dreams. It was just too… personal. And creepy. So instead, she shrugged and stuffed her mutilated sandwich back into her brown paper bag. "I don't know… I guess I just wanted to make sure he was okay." She could tell be the look of their faces that neither of them believed her, but they didn't push it. They knew if she wanted to talk about it, she would.

"Okay, anyways," Elena said. "When Tyler dropped you off from the hospital…?"

"I was saying bye and he was looking at me and before I knew it, I was leaning forward." Caroline felt like she just confessed she was a stripper on the weekends. She bit her lip, waiting for her friends' reaction. Would they be shocked? Appalled? Judgmental?

The word _insecure_ floated through her head.

"Did you two kiss?" Bonnie asked, eyes wide. She was definitely surprised- they both were- but there wasn't any judgment in her eyes.

Caroline shook her head, causing her blonde curls to bounce. "No, my elbow hit the armrest and I realized what I as doing. I practically ran inside."

"Damn," Elena said, quietly, leaning back. "That's…"

"Horrible? Gross? Appalling?" Caroline's mood deteriorated more and more as each word left her lips.

Elena shook her head. "I think it's kind of… expected?"

Caroline stared at her, mouth gaping. "Expected?" she asked, her voice going up an octave. "Me almost cheating on my boyfriend with his best friend is expected?" She felt slightly insulted.

"Look," Elena said, leaning forward. "Matt's always been one of my good friends, but he isn't very… understanding, you know? He likes things to be a certain way. He doesn't like conflicts and arguments. And you aren't like that. You don't avoid the problem. Maybe you and Matt just aren't so good for each other anymore."

Elena did have a point. Caroline wasn't perfect and sometimes she felt like Matt wanted her to be. He hated the fact that she was insecure, but it wasn't like she could just change that. It was a part of who she was. She always tried to keep it at bay because of Matt, but maybe it was time he started accepting all of her faults.

"And maybe," she went on, "Tyler is a relief. It's not like the guy doesn't have his own problems. So maybe around him, you feel like you don't have to hide your problems."

Caroline thought that over for a minute. Elena had another great point. Tyler didn't make her feel like she needed to hide any of her faults or problems, because he had just as many, if not more than she did. He was like a fresh breath of air after being cramped inside a box for so long.

"I still don't know what to do though," Caroline said. "I don't want to break up with Matt, but things are just getting bad between us."

"I say give it a little bit longer, and if things don't get better, end it," Bonnie said. "You can't say with him if you're not happy."

Caroline nodded, but her head still hurt. While their talk was refreshing, she still had decided absolutely nothing.

* * *

><p>Tyler missed the days when he didn't give a damn about anything or anyone but himself. He missed the days where his biggest problem was where to hold the next party and how he was doing to get the beer. He missed the days when he was a selfish bastard and didn't have a care in the world. He hated feeling. He hated worrying about the full moon. He hated worrying about what Mason was up to- because he knew it was something. He hated feeling like his life was spinning out of control. And he especially hated feeling about Caroline.<p>

He had seen her and Matt arguing this morning and he had felt worried about her. Was she okay? What were they arguing about? He could have easily listened to what they were saying, but it felt intrusive. Tyler Lockwood was respecting boundaries. What the hell was the world coming to? And throw in the fact that he had wanted to knock Matt out for making her look so upset, it was a whole world of confusion.

And that didn't even include their almost kiss from the day before. He would never in a million years thought she would try and kiss him, but she did. He didn't insinuate it; she did. He wasn't sure whether he was fervently glad or fervently pissed her arm hit the armrest, stopping her. He didn't get much time to react though, because she had practically ran into the house after that.

God, he wished he didn't feel anything like he used to. It was so much easier like that.

He could hardly concentrate during practice, but it didn't effect his performance. Nope, he did exceptionally well. He had his stupid werewolf gene to thank for that one. He idly wondered if anyone was going to suspect he was taking steroids, and if they did, what would show up in his blood? He didn't think "werewolf gene" was in the medical textbooks, so he would be a mystery. If anything showed up at all. It made him idly curious and he almost wanted to get tested.

Mason would kill him for even thinking it.

After showering, he gathered all of his stuff and knocked on Coach Tanner's office door. Tyler was dreading this talk. Coach Tanner was a bigger dick than he ever was and he was even less understanding.

He heard him call "Come in" and he opened the door.

"What can I do for you Tyler?" he asked, already looking as if he didn't like it.

"Um, I can't play in the game Friday."

Coach Tanner quirked an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. "And why is that exactly?"

_Because I'll be a little busy turning into a werewolf? _"A family thing," Tyler explained. Technically, it wasn't really a lie. It was a family thing.

"What kind of family thing?"

Of course, he couldn't just accept that issue. He had to press. "Some of my dad's family is coming up. My mom says I have to be there."

Coach Tanner laughed, the dick. "Son," he said, "I don't care if the president of the United States is coming to your house Friday night. You're playing in that game."

Tyler's anger boiled at being called "son" by him. "I can't-"

He leaned forward and waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Play in the game or you're off the team."

Tyler's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything. He walked out of the door, closing it harder than necessary. He obviously couldn't play in the game, so he was off the team. He wasn't sure he really cared anymore.

* * *

><p>Caroline caught her mom just as she was about to leave. She was sweaty from practice and was in desperate need of a shower, but instead of running upstairs to take one like she usually did, she went into the kitchen and saw Liz. Earlier this morning she was suppose to go back to the hospital and talk to Cody.<p>

"Hey, mom, how did this morning go?" Caroline asked, trying not to look eager for her answer. What would her mom think of Cody's explanation of a golden eyed man?

"Fine," she said, sighing.

"Well, what'd he say?" Caroline pressed.

"He said it was an animal," Liz said. "He couldn't tell exactly what kind, but a mountain lion maybe."

Caroline's eyes widened and she felt like her whole world was spinning. An animal. He told her it was an animal.

Why would he lie?

* * *

><p>Sorry that this chapter was kind of boring. I had it planned differently originally, but the timing wouldn't have worked out right. Next chapter is a lot more interesting, promise!<p>

Review!


	10. Chapter 10

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 10

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. AU.

**Author's Note**: I know, I know. I freaking SUCK. I've been having horrible writer's block lately, amongst other things. My apology gift: a very long chapter.

I had to go back and watch a VD episode to write this chapter and I forgot how much I hated Tyler and Caroline in season one! I'm glad they stopped being so obnoxious!

Sooooo I started a new Fanfic (I know, I know, what the hell was I thinking?) but before anyone comes at me with a virtual baseball bat, it's not a story, story. I.e., it's lacking a plot and a story line. Basically it's just a collection of one shots of Damon and Elena in humorous situations with each other. Idk if any of you are Delena fans, but if you are, check it out.

Enough of my babbling. Read!

* * *

><p>Tuesday<p>

Bonnie had a bad feeling, and she was beginning to learn that they were more than just bad feelings. She'd always had them, even when she was a little girl, but plenty of people got bad feelings didn't they? It was natural and even when her bad feelings rang true, she could still pass it off as normal. But she was beginning to really understand that maybe they weren't just bad feelings. Maybe her Grams wasn't so crazy after all. Her family was supposedly descended from witches and witches had visions, or "feelings."

Could she really believe that witches were real? And even crazier, that she was one? Normal, quiet Bonnie Bennett a witch. She didn't feel particularly witchy, at least not until recently. Was there a tell that all witches had? A birthmark or a similarity in a particular feature? She'd always thought that witches had huge noses and warts when she was little. She didn't think she had a big nose and if she did, no one ever told her about it. Surely Caroline would tell her she had a big nose, wouldn't she? And she certainly did not have warts anywhere on her body.

Or maybe real life witches looked completely normal and weren't so… horrid?

She ran a hand through her brown hair and sighed, feeling in over her head. She was having a hard time pretending everything was normal. These feelings or "psychic visions" as Grams called them, were becoming stronger and felt more real. They no longer had that dream like quality. They felt just as real as she did.

Were they real?

She stared down at the numbers she had written in her old notebook. 7, 14, 22. The numbers meant nothing to her, but she couldn't stop writing them down. She woke up thinking about them, and she had immediately grabbed the notebook to write them down. They felt so important, but she couldn't figure out why. She'd thought maybe they were a date: July 14, 1922, but nothing specific had happened on that day, so she researched the same date but with the year 1822. Still nothing. She tried different centuries, but she came up blank. Somehow sports and openings didn't seem to explain the numbers.

She could go in denial and pass it off, but when she woke up, she felt such a powerful dread coursing through her veins, she nearly cried. It was a horrible feeling that left her drained and afraid of what was going to happen. Whatever these numbers meant, they were bad.

She traced her pinky finger over them and closed her eyes, trying to get a feel from them. She breathed in deeply and out slowly, focusing everything inside of her on those numbers like Grams said to do. _In out, in out_. She repeated the process over and over until finally, with one last deep breath…

_It was dark. That was the first thing Bonnie noticed when she opened her eyes. Even lost in the darkness, she knew she was no longer in her bedroom or even her house. It was still too dark to really tell where she was, but the breeze ruffling her hair indicated that she was outside. The air was cold, causing goose bumps to form on her scantily clad skin and the ground beneath her bare feet was hard, like concrete or asphalt, though she couldn't tell which. _

_For one moment, she felt her heart lodge in her throat and she couldn't breathe. Where was she? How did she get here? And then just as soon as the panic had come, it went away as she remembered. She was in her bedroom early Tuesday morning, trying to figure out what three numbers that were repeating over and over in her heard meant. 7, 14, 22. _

_With a jolt, she realized she was having - what had Grams called it? - a vision. This surprised her as much as it frightened her. She'd tried it multiple times with Grams, but hadn't been able to accomplish it. She'd been frustrated each time. Now, she couldn't possibly understand why she had wanted to succeed in having a vision. It felt... Wrong, like walking into the last place you should be. Her skin felt startlingly cold and prickly, like someone was pricking her with needles over and over. _

_She stood still for a moment, peering into the darkness for something, anything. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust, and when they finally did, she saw that she was in a parking lot behind a building. She could just barely make this out though, so deciphering anything else would be nearly impossible. _

_A strange feeling passed through her body and just as if it had been spoken out loud, she knew she needed to turn around._

_She did and came face to face with nothing. There was nothing but more parking lot, each and every space empty except for one off to the left. It made her relieved and frustrated. What was this vision telling her? She was going to get a parking ticket? _

_She shook her head and just out of the corner of her eye, to her right, she saw movement. Whipping her head, she faintly saw a figure walking, heads down as they examined something. She thought the person was a man, but it could have just as easily been a big boned woman. She held her breath as the person grew nearer and nearer to her, wondering if she should try to hide as to not be seen._

You're not truly there_, Gram's voice said in her head, the older woman raising a tea cup to her lips as she looked at her granddaughter over the edge. _Therefore, you can not be seen or heard.

_Bonnie rethought her choice on hiding. _

_Though the figure was closer to Bonnie - nearly in front of her, actually - she still could not make out any distinguishing features, like gender or hair color or skin color even. She watched the shadow figure as they continued to walk. After another few seconds, they had reached the only car in the parking lot._

_The figure appeared out of literally nowhere. One minute, the second shadowy figure was not there, and the next, they were standing in front of the first shadowy figure. The first figure noticed and visibly jumped, but didn't move. Neither moved for a second and Bonnie guessed they were talking, though she couldn't hear anything. She knew she should move forward and listen, but her feet her frozen to the ground with fear._

_The second figure took a step forward and the first a step back, raising their hands. The thing they had been looking at was papers. The person dropped them and they fell to the ground, scattering here and there. They were startling white against the seemingly black ground._

_And then the first figure took another step backward and turned, as if to run. This gave Bonnie a clear view of the second figure. She squinted, expecting to see nothing but darkness. What she saw brought a gasp from her lips. Golden eyes. Not yellow, but truly golden eyes were set into the dark face, like two glowing orbs. The golden eyed figure was suddenly in front of the first figure. Their arm was outstretched and before Bonnie could tell what has happening, the first figure fell to the ground, at an odd angle. It reminded her of how a doll looked if you dropped it on the floor: bent, awkward, _wrong_. _

_And then, black liquid began flowing from the still figure, pooling around them. _

_Blood._

_Bonnie stared as the golden eyed figure squatted down and stuck his hand in the blood before lifting it and on a clean spot of ground, where no blood would reach, trailing his fingers over it, as if writing._

_And then Bonnie screamed._

* * *

><p>Jeremy Gilbert was grating on his nerves.<p>

Ever since Friday, he was acting all high and mighty, like somehow he had done some great deed by accusing Tyler of raping Vicki and then slicing his palm open. Of course, his hand had healed not long after, so technically it hadn't caused him that much trouble, but Gilbert didn't know that. Tyler wanted nothing more than to knock that stupid smirk he was shooting him right off his face. He distantly remembered a time years ago when he had been somewhat friends with him. He and Elena had always been in the same social circle, so naturally Jeremy fell into too.

That felt like a million years ago. Funny, how things could change so much in such a short amount of time. Now, Jeremy was an emo druggie, Elena was no longer the happy, bubbly girl she used to be and he was crushing on his best friend's girlfriend because of some werewolf gene he had awoken when accidentally killing someone.

Too bad he wasn't laughing.

Speaking of Elena, she was at her locker a set over from his with Bonnie, who looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep in awhile. Her face was pale, twisted, like she was sucking on a lemon and her lips trembled as she spoke. Elena reached out her hand and put it on Bonnie's shoulder, obviously trying to comfort the smaller girl, who looked on the verge of tears.

Tyler told himself it was more than likely nothing. Bonnie was having guy problems or got into a fight with her dad or something, but the undeniable terror in her eyes made him hesitate to believe it was something that simple. Whatever it was, it was scaring the hell out of the girl he'd known his entire life.

He stared at them, wishing he could hear what they were saying.

And then suddenly, he could. He could hear everything. Every footstep, every dropped pencil, every sigh, every laugh for what felt like miles. He could even hear the sound of a car engine spluttering outside of the school and the curse that came from its driver. It was like he had super hearing.

"_It was terrible, Elena_," he heard Bonnie say, wrapping her arms around her small body.

"_Maybe it was just a dream_," Elena said, meekly, like she knew whatever they weren't talking about wasn't just a dream.

"_It wasn't a dream_!" Bonnie hissed. "_I was awake_."

Elena looked like she didn't know what to say to that and realizing how nasty she had just sounded, Bonnie's angry expression dissipated, replaced by regret and underneath, fear. "_I'm sorry_," Bonnie said. "_I'm just freaked out. It was so damn real, Elena_."

"_What… what do you think it means_?" Elena asked, worry tightening the skin around her eyes.

Bonnie shook her head and tears welled up in her green eyes. "It was… it means someone's going to die." Her voice had just dropped down to a whisper, but Tyler could hear her as easily as if he was standing right beside her.

His eyes widened. Someone was going to die? How the hell did Bonnie know that?

Bonnie raised a shaking hand to her mouth and began biting her finger nails. A stray tear ran down her cheek and dropped off, falling to the floor. "Oh, god and the eyes," she said, her voice shaking. "I've never seen anything like them before, 'Lena. Not outside of a movie or a film."

Just then, Tyler heard the familiar sound of heels clicking on the floor and saw Caroline walking towards Elena and Bonnie, her face pinched. She stopped when she saw Bonnie and then quickly went to the girl. "Bonnie, are you okay?" Caroline asked just as Bonnie, finishing a sentence he hadn't heard, said, "…golden."

Carolina froze, a question mark on her face. "What's wrong?" she asked. "And what's golden?"

Bonnie opened her mouth, but quickly looked around and closed it. Tyler averted his eyes, hoping she hadn't seen him staring. If she did, she didn't say anything about it to the other two girls.

"This morning-"

She was cut off then, by the bell ringing.

Bonnie jumped and quickly said, "I'll tell you at lunch, okay?" before disappearing down the hall, leaving Elena and Caroline staring after her. Caroline turned to Elena, who just shook her head and said something Tyler didn't catch before walking in the opposite direction. Caroline was left standing there, staring at where Bonnie had disappeared. He watched her for a few seconds before she suddenly turned around and stared right at him, like she knew he had been watching.

He knew he should turn around and go to class, but he couldn't help but continue to stand there, watching her watch him. She cocked her head to the side, a slight smile on her face. He would admit that his heart skipped a beat. She took a step forward, but something caught her eye somewhere behind him and her smile quickly faded, replaced by a frown and she turned and began walking to her class, not looking back.

He turned around to see what it was that caused her to leave, but he saw nothing.

* * *

><p>Caroline was the first at their table at lunch, nervously waiting for Elena and Bonnie to tell her what the hell was going on. Her nerves felt positively frayed what with Cody lying, drama with Matt and Tyler, and now Bonnie being upset about something. It felt like everything was falling apart and she wasn't sure exactly how to fix them. Matt had seen her staring at Tyler and the look on his face was less than happy. It wasn't her fault though- she couldn't stop. He was staring at them, like he knew exactly what they were talking about. It was a little more than unnerving. Apparently, Cody had told Liz that it was an animal that attacked him, though that had not been what he told her. Who did he lie to? And now Bonnie. She'd never seen the girl so scared.<p>

She studied a tree, whose leaves were dying and falling to the ground, forming a pile of orange and brown and red for someone to clean up.

She didn't see her two best friends until they were sitting down in front of her. They both looked worried and freaked. Bonnie still looked terrified.

"Alright, tell me what's going on," Caroline commanded.

Elena looked at Bonnie, who was chewing on the bottom of her lip. "I… I'm not sure you're gonna believe me, Care," Bonnie said.

Caroline blinked. Why wouldn't she believe one of her best friends? "Try me," Caroline said. "I'm a lot more open minded lately."

"Well, you know Grams says we're witches, right?" Bonnie asked.

She nodded.

"And she also said that we can have visions… like of the future."

Caroline sat quietly, taking that in. She didn't believe in that kind of stuff but… "Did you… have one?" she asked.

Bonnie nodded. "I think so. I woke this morning with these three numbers in my head: 7, 14, 22. Do they mean anything to you?"

Caroline's eyebrows crinkled as she shifted through dates and addresses. Finally, she said, "No, not at all."

"They didn't mean anything to me, either," Elena said.

"Grams told me that if I focused all my energy on something, I can get a feel for it," Bonnie said. "So I tried that and I… had a vision."

Believer or not, Caroline was intrigued by this. Bonnie wasn't a liar; she wouldn't lie about that. "What happened?"

Bonnie looked around for a moment before leaning forward and saying, "I was in a parking lot and a man - I think - was walking to his car. When he got there, another person was there. I think they talked for a moment before the first man began backing away."

Bonnie's voice had taken on a terrified, shaky tone and it scared the hell out of Caroline. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what happened next, because she knew it was horrible.

"And then the second man took a step forward, reaching out his hand. I couldn't see what he did, but the first man fell and blood started pouring out of him. He _killed_ him, Care. And then he dipped his fingers in the blood and started _drawing_ on the pavement."

Caroline's eyes widened. "A-and you're sure this wasn't a dream or something?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I was awake."

She wasn't sure what to say.

"And that wasn't even the worst part," Bonnie said.

"What could possibly be worse than _that_?"

"I caught a glimpse of the murderer's face," she said, shivering slightly. "I saw his eyes. They were _gold_."

Caroline nearly fainted.

"_I heard something." He still had that far away, distant look in his eyes. "So I started walking but…"_

"_But what?" she asked._

_He was staring at something she couldn't see, listening to something she couldn't hear. "I saw it."_

_Caroline's chest felt like it was about to burst. "Cody, what did you see?"_

"_Eyes," he said, vacantly. "They were… wrong."_

_She stopped breathing as she listened to him. He was acting like he was in a trance, like he wasn't fully in the room with her. His eyes looked almost glazed and his voice was becoming more and more empty. She wondered if he was going into shock._

"_What was wrong with them?" Caroline asked. _

"_They were yellow. Bright, bright yellow. Gold, even."_

"Caroline! Are you okay?" Elena's worried voice exclaimed.

Caroline was gripping the edge of the table to keep from falling. "Gold eyes," she whispered, thinking back to the hospital and the dreams.

"What?" Elena asked, leaning forward to hear.

"I- I need to tell you guys something," Caroline said, suddenly. "When I went to the hospital to see Cody, he remembered seeing something. He saw a man with gold eyes. That was what attacked him. Not an animal. But then he told my mom an animal attacked him. I think he was lying to her."

Bonnie paled and Elena's eyes widened. "This is crazy," she said, her voice sounding shaky. "You guys know that right?"

"And that's not all," Caroline said, suddenly not feeling so crazy anymore. "I've been having these… nightmares and in them, a man with gold eyes is chasing me through the woods. At the end of the dream, he always kills me."

They all sat in silence for a few moments.

"I think this is all very real," Bonnie said. "I need to talk to my Grams. Maybe she'll know what to do."

Caroline nodded, something in her stomach telling her that something seriously wrong was going on. In her peripheral vision, she saw another leaf fall from the tree, floating to the ground and landing on the pile of other leaves, having died from the cold.

* * *

><p>He was quitting the team before practice. He was tired of dealing with Tanner and all of his bullshit and tired of worrying about games and practices. He had enough of his plate and while he couldn't do anything about most of it, he could do something about football. It wasn't like it was fun anymore anyway. No one could stop him now, not with his new speed and strength. He felt like a varsity player on JV.<p>

He bounded into Tanner's office, not bothering to knock. Not like he could make him do suicides or push ups as a punishment anymore. He was on the phone, talking to someone about Friday's game. When he saw Tyler, he interrupted whoever was talking and said, "Let me call you back in a minute."

He hung up, not bothering to wait for a reply. He looked at Tyler. "Did you straighten everything out for Friday?"

"Yep," Tyler said.

Tanner looked relieved. "Good. I knew-"

"I quit."

"_What_?" he yelled, his face turning red.

"I quit."

Tanner narrowed his eyes. "Alright, Lockwood, I don't know what this is about, but-"

"It's not about anything," Tyler snapped. "I don't want to be on the team anymore. I just don't care about football anymore, so I quit."

If Tyler thought he looked mad before, now he looked murderous. He was sucking in air, his face nearly purple, then releasing it in little huffs. "If you think you can just-"

"I can just quit," Tyler interrupted. "You can't force me to play. Get Austin to take my position. He's capable."

And with that, he walked out of Tanner's office, feeling at least a small weight off his shoulder. He laughed as he walked through the locker room. He couldn't help it. He'd always hated Tanner and seeing him that pissed because of him was priceless. Even better, he couldn't do anything to get back at Tyler because he wasn't his history teacher.

He stopped laughing when he nearly waked right into Matt, who was frowning.

"Why aren't you dressed?" Matt asked.

"I quit."

Matt's eyes bugged out. "You what?"

"I quit," he repeated. "I'm done.

"W-why?"

Tyler shrugged. "I've been playing football since fourth grade. It's starting to get a little old. Time to move on."

At that, Matt's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, speaking of moving on," he said. "What's going on with Caroline?"

Tyler blinked, carefully making his face blank. "No idea," he said. "She's your girlfriend. Shouldn't you know?"

"I'm talking about what's going on between _you_ and Caroline," Matt snapped.

"Nothing," Tyler said, which was mostly true. Not being able to stop himself, he added, "Why? Did she say something?"

"Not really," Matt said.

"Okay then," Tyler said, slightly disappointed. _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! _"Wait. What were you talking about 'moving on?'"

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

"Look," Matt said. "I know how you are. You move from girl to girl without thinking twice about it. You were talking to my sister- what?- three weeks ago?"

"What does your sister have to do with anything?"

"I'm just saying I know how you are with girls. You use them till you get what you want with them-"

"I'm pretty sure _I_ was the one getting used in the situation with your sister," Tyler interrupted with a dark look.

"-and then you dump them," Matt finished. "I just don't want Caroline thinking she's helping you and it blow back up in her face."

"So, basically," Tyler said, annoyed. "You're telling me to stay away from Caroline?"

Matt sighed. "Yeah."

Two months ago, Tyler would have punched him and done exactly what Matt asked him not to. But he didn't because he knew Matt was right. He needed to leave Caroline alone, once and for good, even if the idea killed him. She wasn't his. She was Matt's. And that was the way things were suppose to be. That was what was good for her in the end.

"Fine." His voice was surprisingly calm, steady. "I'll stay away from her."

Matt instantly looked relieved. "Thanks."

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

><p>It was dark outside by the time William Tanner stepped out of the field house and began the descent to his car. It was cold, the wind blowing dead leaves and rusting his hair. His car was the only one in the parking lot. He had to stay later than he usually did, reworking plays and trying to figure out how the hell they were going to win the game Friday with Tyler. He still couldn't believe the Lockwood brat had quit.<p>

He looked down at the reworked plays as he walked to the car, knowing they were going to get creamed at the game. There was just no way. Finally having reached his car, he reached for his keys in his pocket.

"Hello."

He jumped, dropping his keys back into his pocket.

A man in his late twenties, early thirties was standing in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. He looked harmless enough. Short blonde hair, gray eyes, pleasant face. He wasn't a large man, but William still watched him with cautious.

"Can I help you?" William asked.

The man smiled. Something about it unnerved him. It was a predatory smile, a dangerous one. He took a step back.

"Yes, you can actually," the man said, taking a step forward. "I need you to deliver a message for me."

"Look, man," William said, taking another step forward. He raised his hands, dropping the plays in the process. "I don't want any trouble."

"Oh no, of course not," he said, smiling, his tone pleasant.

William looked at him, not sure what he should do.

The man's pleasant smile turned into a frown and he sighed, like he was tired. "But unfortunately, we can not all get what we want."

Before he could do anything, the man's eyes flashed a brilliant gold and he stepped forward, extending his hand. He swiped it at William's throat and for a moment, he thought the man was trying to choke him. But when the man's hand brushed his throat, the skin ripped and he fell to the ground. Blood poured from his throat and his vision went black.

* * *

><p>He stared down at the man unlucky enough to cross his path. His blood was rolling down the slight hill, dark and thick. His own hand was bloody ; he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a handkerchief, wiping his hand. When it was clean, he neatly folded the now red material and stuck it back inside his jacket.<p>

He looked down at the man and smiled. "It won't be long now," he said cheerfully, before turning and disappearing into the night.

* * *

><p>Dun…dun…dun…<p>

So I'm going to go ahead and warn you: the next two chapters aren't going to have much Forwood action, but they're both going to have plenty of action as the characters start uncovering at least parts of the truth. The full moon is coming up though- within in the next three chapters probably- and I assure you, there will be enough Forwood action to keep you satisfied.

Review!


	11. Chapter 11

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 11

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. AU.

**Author's Note**: Thank you all for your lovely reviews. They make my day! I'm going to New York for a week so I won't be able to update. Sorry):

* * *

><p>Wednesday<p>

Matt Donovan parked his beat up old pick up truck in Mystic Falls High's student parking lot, which was nearly vacant. It was early- 7:15 -so only a very few people were parked. He grabbed his football bag with one hand, slinging it over his shoulder, and grabbed his book bag with the other. Wiping sleep out of his eyes, he made his way toward the front of the field house, already dreading working out. He was absolutely exhausted. Vicky had come in late again, and of course, he'd stayed up waiting for her. Ninety nine percent of the time he felt like he was the older of the two. He felt like the big brother having to take care of his immature, irresponsible little sister who had a knack for taking strange pills and talking to even stranger guys. She'd been with Jeremy Gilbert last night- her newest toy- who was hardly a stranger, but he still didn't like to think what they had been doing out that late.

He turned the cold, silver handle, only to find it locked. Frowning, he tried again. Coach Tanner always got there ridiculously early, opening up the weight room for anyone who wanted to come in. Today wasn't a workout day for football players, but he was still surprised to find the door locked. He had to give it to him: the man was a total dick, but he was punctual and reliable. He knocked on the door, thinking maybe Coach had forgotten to unlock it. After a few minutes with no response, he cut through the grass and walked around the side of the building. Maybe the back door was unlocked.

Eyes on the concrete, he walked to the backdoor and tried the handle. No dice. It was locked too. He huffed out a breath. Where the hell was Tanner? He turned, sweeping the area. There was a medium sized parking lot behind the field house, which was usually filled during football games. One loan car was parked, far to the left. He instantly recognized Coach Tanner's Mustang. Matt squinted. All the doors were closed and no one was inside.

Call it a gut feeling, but something made him drop his bags and begin walking toward the car. A few steps in, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he shivered. When he was just a few yards away from the car, he spotted something on the left side, just barely in his line of vision. It was dark, and Matt wondered if maybe something was leaking from the car.

He saw a hand first, stained with dried, dark liquid, peaking out from the side of the car. Matt swallowed bile and walked closer, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to see. Tanner laid still, blood straining his shirt from a wound to his neck, a larger puddle beneath him. His face was pale, his lips parted. If it weren't for all the blood, Matt could have almost convinced himself he was alive. His eyes were open after all, but they were wide, glassy and staring. His chest did not rise and fall.

There was something else, but Matt was too shocked to read the message that had been written in blood.

He stood there, completely frozen for a minute before running back to where he had dropped his bags by the back door and dialing 911.

* * *

><p>"I'm telling you," Bonnie said. "It's Staind, not Seether."<p>

"It's Seether!" Caroline said. They were on their way to school, arguing over who was the artist of a song that was playing on the radio. Bonnie's car wouldn't start this morning, so she'd called Caroline. It felt so trivial, arguing over a song when it felt like everything was falling apart. But for some reason, it did make her feel a little better.

"Oh my, God, Care!" Bonnie exclaimed. "It's Staind!"

"You know what? We are settling this right now," she said and stuck her hand in her purse, shuffling things around.

"Let me do it," Bonnie said, taking the purse away from the blonde. "I don't particularly want to die today."

"Fine," Caroline said, rolling her eyes. "Get out my phone and go to SoundHound."

Bonnie did and held the phone up in front of the speakers. She waited for the song to register. It did and she smiled. "'Not Again' by Staind. I told you so!"

Bonnie looked at Caroline, fully prepared to gloat about her immense musical knowledge, but stopped short. Caroline was staring straight ahead, her eyes wide and her eyebrows furrowed.

"What-?" Bonnie began, looking in the direction Caroline was. They were in the student parking lot, just about to pull into a parking spot. The field house parking lot, which was in full view, was swarming with cops and ambulances, blue and red lights flashing. A crowd had started, circling something she couldn't see from here, and the police were ushering people back.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked, like Caroline might actually know.

"I have no idea," Caroline said, turning off the car and getting out. Bonnie followed close in pursuit. "My mom was at work when I left so I have no idea. I wonder what happened."

"Come on," Bonnie said, grabbing her best friend's hand and pulling her toward the crowd of students.

Even as close as they were, they couldn't see over the crowd of people. Bonnie was short and even on her tippy toes, she couldn't see past her fellow students' heads. Caroline gripped her hand tighter, as to not loose her in the crowd, and began pushing, not so politely telling people to move. When they finally reached the edge of people, Bonnie saw Liz Forbes, Caroline's mom and the sheriff of Mystic Falls. She looked exhausted - dark bags underneath her eyes and blonde hair rustled all around her face.

"Mom, what's going on?" Caroline asked, hand still gripping Bonnie's tightly.

"Caroline?" Liz asked, eyes wide. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" Caroline exclaimed. "I'm here because it's a school day!"

"I told you to stay home," Liz said, her voice tight with stress and tension. "Did you not get my message?"

"No, we were in the car listening to music and then-"

"Never mind that," Liz said, waving a dismissive hand. "I want you to get back in your car - take Bonnie with you - and go home. Don't leave there until I come and tell you otherwise."

Bonnie knew her face mirrored Caroline's. Scared. Worried. Curious. What the hell was going on? A bad feeling was in Bonnie's feeling - a feeling that felt too familiar for comfort.

"Mom, what's going on?" Caroline asked, looking pale.

Liz sighed and said, "William Tanner was murdered sometime last night. It looks like an animal attack, but there was a… message. I don't know what's going on and I would feel better if I knew you were at home, safe. Please, Caroline. Just once, please listen to me."

"What kind of message?" Caroline asked, her voice breathy.

Bonnie distantly heard Liz and Caroline continuing to talk, but part of her was thinking back to yesterday when she had her vision. It had been dark… someone murdered in an empty parking lot, a parking like just like this one, the murderer writing something in blood. Was it…? No, no it couldn't be possible! Bonnie couldn't possibly have seen Mr. Tanner's death.

She didn't realize she had shaken off Caroline's hand and began to run toward the one lone car (besides police cars and ambulances) in the parking lot until she heard Liz call her name and the tap tap tap of feet on the ground, chasing after her. It was too late though. She already was looking at Mr. Tanner's body, pale and still. His eyes were wide open, his face and shirt stained with blood that had spewed from his ripped throat. Beside him was a message written in his own blood. _Tick, tock. Time is running out. _

Her eyes only lingered on that for a moment though, before something else caught her attention. It was the number of the parking spot, barely able to be seen with the blood surrounding it: 7.

Her heart clenched in her chest, making breathing painfully difficult.

And then her eyes moved to Mr. Tanner's license plate. It was a normal license plate, with letters and numbers. One number in particular caught her eyes: 14.

She could barely breath now. Her vision was blurry and unfocused and her body felt strangely light, like she wasn't completely connected to it anymore. But she wasn't so out of it that she didn't see the paper just beside his hand. It was of a play. It was of play number 22.

She distantly heard someone yell her name before everything went dark and she was falling.

* * *

><p>"Bonnie!" Caroline yelled, ignoring her mom yelling at her to come back. Her best friend looked ashen, like she was about to throw up. Her eyes were moving back and forth, her distress becoming more clear at each thing. And then, her eyes rolled back and she was falling toward the ground.<p>

"Oh, my God! Bonnie!" Caroline screamed.

She ran as fast as she could, dodging hands trying to hold her back and dropped down on her knees. She grabbed Bonnie's arm and shook it, praying she was alright. She got no response. "Bonnie! Wake up!"

She finally seemed to notice something other than the still girl. She was standing beside a Mustang and beside that Mustang was Mr. Tanner. Or rather, Mr. Tanner's body. He was deathly pale, his eyes wide open and his shirt and face stained with dark red. An even larger amount of red was underneath him, staining the concrete. His throat was ripped open, like someone had taken long nails and torn it open. Something was written in blood - the message Liz was talking about. It read, _Tick tock. Time is running out. _

Caroline fell back on the ground, her mind running wild. What time? Why was it running out? What was going to happen when it ran out?

People were beginning to surround Bonnie, lifting her up and carrying her away. Someone helped Caroline to her feet and asked if she was alright. She nodded, though she was far from it. She'd heard about this before. In Bonnie's vision, she had said that someone was murdered and a message was written in blood. Was this what Bonnie saw? Mr. Tanner dying?

"Caroline, come on," Liz said, guiding her daughter to an ambulance. "Sit down. You look pale."

_Of course I look pale!_ She wanted to say. _My best friend saw my teacher dying! _But she couldn't find her voice, so she allowed her mom to help her in the ambulance. A paramedic asked if she was okay and she nodded, then he put a blanket around her. She hadn't realized until the warm material was touching her how cold it was outside. It was freezing.

"Caroline?"

The voice was as familiar as her own and once upon a time, this voice made her heart flutter and her cheeks turn red. Now it was just another voice. Matt stood in front of her, looking pale and wide eyed, dark crescent moons lining the soft skin right underneath his baby blue eyes.

"Hey," she said, her voice sounding strange.

"Are you okay? What are you doing in here?"

"Bonnie… she passed out when she saw Mr. Tanner." Caroline couldn't bring herself to say "body." "And I don't know… I just…"

He nodded understandingly and climbed up in the ambulance to sit beside her. They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes. It was weird - them being uncomfortable around each other. She wondered if she should still be mad about Dana having her paws all over him. She wasn't. Not really. It didn't seem so important anymore.

Matt broke the silence first. "I found him," he said quietly, looking down at his intertwined hands. "Mr. Tanner, I mean."

Caroline's mouth popped open in a little "o" and she turned her whole body toward him. "Oh, my god," she said. "That must have been horrible."

"I wonder who did it," he said. "Because it's not the animal that attacked Cody. An animal couldn't of done that. Written the message, I mean."

"Or maybe it wasn't an animal who attacked him in the first place," she whispered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and bit his lip. A few seconds later he said, "Caroline, are we okay?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, though she knew.

"I mean… I don't know. Things have been weird with us lately. I feel like we're growing apart and… I don't want that to happen. I love you, Care. I don't want to lose you."

He was still looking down at his hands, avoiding her eyes. It used to bother her, that he wouldn't look her in the eyes, but now she knew it was because he was uncomfortable. He wasn't good with talking about feelings. She gave him the benefit of the doubt.

She sighed and said, "I love you too, Matt. But we have some problems that I can't ignore anymore. We need to talk about them."

"Alright," he said. "Friday night. I'll come over and we'll talk."

"Okay."

"And I'm really sorry about the whole Tyler thing," he said.

She assumed he was talking about him being suspicious of them spending time together. "I know," she said. "And it's okay."

"I mean, I shouldn't have asked him to stay away from you."

She raised an eyebrow. "_What?_"

He looked at her, surprised by the sharpness of her voice. "I-"

"You told Tyler to stay away from me?" she asked. That made her absolutely livid. How dare he try to control her life like that!

"I thought you knew," he said, realizing his mistake. "When you said we have problems that we need to work out."

She stood up, dropping the blanket. "I can't believe you would do that."

"I'm sorry, but I thought-"

"What? You thought that I was going to hook up with Tyler? News flash, Matt, I'm not the cheating type. And with your best friend at that? Screw you." She shook her head and hopped out of the ambulance, ready to get the hell out of there.

* * *

><p>Tyler, like all the rest of the population of Mystic Falls High School, was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He'd heard enough of bits and pieces of conversation that Tanner had been killed, but that was all. Unlike all the rest of Mystic Falls High school, his sneaking skills were pretty awesome, so he had successfully managed to weave his way between cars and ambulances to actually get a better look.<p>

Right as he was turning the corner of an ambulance, someone ran into him. He knew it was her immediately. She always smelled like vanilla and a flower he couldn't figure out. Not to mention her blonde hair brushed his arm, making him shiver slightly. He grabbed her arm, making sure she didn't lose her balance. He had a rush of deja vu of that first day, when he said he would make sure to let her fall if she ever ran into him again. Oops.

She looked pissed. Like really, really pissed. More pissed than when he accidentally spilt soda all over her during a basketball game and more pissed than the first time she ran into him.

"Tyler," she said. Anger gave way to surprise. "How did you-"

She kept talking, but he couldn't concentrate because his hand was still holding her arm. He should let go. She was dating his best friend, who had asked him to leave her alone. And he said he would. He should let go.

"Tyler?"

He realized whatever she had been saying required some kind of a response. He had no idea what she had been talking about, so he quickly let go of her arm and said, "I was trying to figure out what was going on."

"Mr. Tanner's dead," she said. A shudder passed through her slight frame. "His throat was torn out and there was a… message written in his blood."

"A message?" he asked, surprised. "What did it say?"

"'Tick, tock. Time is running out.'"

What the hell was that suppose to mean?

"Listen, Tyler," she said, "I think that-"

"Look, I've got to go," he said, cutting her off. If he stayed, he would somehow get roped into whatever she wanted him to do and he couldn't do that. He needed to stay far, far away from Caroline Forbes, or he was going to lose it.

"Oh," she said, her eyebrows furrowing at his abrupt tone. "Do you think I can call you later or something? I want to talk to you about-"

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said. "It's not like I'm going to be able to help you or anything."

"But-"

"Seriously, I've got to go," he said. "I'm sure Elena or Bonnie will help you. Isn't that what friends are for?"

She covered her hurt expression almost quickly enough for him not too see it. Almost. "Fine," she said. "I guess I'll see you later."

He had to stop himself from apologizing and saying he would help her, and shrugged, before turning around and going back the way he had come from. He pushed past all of his fellow students, heading toward his car and feeling like the biggest dick on the face of the planet.

* * *

><p>Mason cursed as, yet again, he pulled out a brown leather book and it failed to be the right one. He'd been going through his big brother's stuff for <em>days <em>-almost getting caught by Tyler - and still couldn't find it. Where the hell did he hide it?

He pulled out another five books with brown leather covers, all of them the wrong one. He cursed again and put all the books back. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to think like Richard. It was proving hard to do. Richard had always been a hard ass and boring, while he was fun and much less of a dick that his older brother.

He walked to the desk and sat down in the leather chair, spinning around and thinking, before he began going through each drawer of the desk. There were plenty of pens and pencils and paperwork and other crap Mason didn't need. No book though.

He blew out a breath and began spinning around in the chair again. Three spins in, his foot caught on something, effectively stopping him. He raised an eyebrow and looked down.

One piece of wood was slightly loose and stuck out.

_No, it couldn't be…_

He leaned down and began shaking the wood, trying to pull it out of place. It budged without any effort on his part.

"You sneaky bastard," Mason said, smiling.

There it was. The book he was looking for, along with a few thousand dollars, a fold of paper and a small brown box that he knew held there father's old class ring. He reached in, ignoring all the rest of the stuff, and picked up the book. It was just how he remembered it.

He heard the front door open.

"Damn it," he said, underneath his breath and tried to stick the wood securely back in place. It wasn't being cooperative, so he had to really shove it in there.

"Mason?" he heard Tyler call out.

What the hell was he doing home?

"Yeah, in here," Mason called back, successfully shoving the piece of wood back in place.

Tyler appeared in the door way within seconds, his eyebrows raised and his eyes suspicious. "What are you doing in here?" he asked.

"Looking for something," he said, trying to appear nonchalant. "Why are you home from school?"

"One of the teachers was found dead," Tyler said.

"Really? What happened? Was it the same animal that attacked that one kid?" As he was speaking, he was slowly sticking the book behind his back, trying to keep it out of view.

Tyler shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "What are you looking for?"

"Nothing," he said, waving a dismissive hand. "Just this old book our mom used to read to us."

Tyler raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying the story.

"What?" Mason asked. "I'm a sentimental guy. So are you ready for Friday?"

Tyler scowled at him and immediately walked away.

Mason felt a little bad for doing that to his nephew, but it would be much, much worse if he had to tell him the truth. Shaking his head, he stood up and stuffed the book in his hem and pulled his shirt over it.

After pushing the chair in, he headed out of the office, closing the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Review(:<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 12

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. AU.

**Author's Note**: So if all goes as plan, next chapter is going to be when Tyler turns! I'm probably more excited than you guys are… I've had this chapter written (both in a document and in my mind) since like, chapter two. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it too. So what the heck is Mason up to? Any ideas?

Oh and school just started and it is KICKING MY ASS already. So… updates may be a little long….

* * *

><p>Thursday<p>

School the next day was obviously closed. Liz came in early this morning and shut off Caroline's alarm clock, successfully waking her up. She then proceeded to tell her to please stay in the house because she "felt like she was safer there" and "this psycho killer could be anyone." Okay, well she didn't say psycho killer but Caroline knows she was thinking it. So now she was stuck in the house with nothing to do for entertainment or even distraction.

And God, did she need a distraction.

Angry Birds and _Supernatural_ could only keep her entertained for so long, and that so long wasn't very long at all. In fact, it had lasted approximately three hours and then neither of her two favorite things could keep her occupied. Her thoughts kept traveling to a.) Mr. Tanner and the message written beside his body, b.) Matt and his recent behavior, c.) Tyler acting strangely like the douche bag she was so used to and d.) when she was going to be able to leave the house.

She wasn't sure which one she was most annoyed by: Matt acting strangely like a jealous version of Tyler, or Tyler acting like Tyler. Matt was never the jealous type; that was her field of expertise. And as for Tyler, he had been acting like a decent -even nice!- person lately. Why the all the sudden change? Either she was just missing something, or he was bipolar. How could someone go from almost kissing you one day, to completely blowing you off the next? She had to be missing something.

She groaned into her pillow, which she had taken down from her bedroom along with her comforter and other supplies needed to survive a boring day home alone: Ipod, Ipod charger, cell phone, cell phone charger, magazines, a book and her favorite Chapstick. Oh, and she also had on Tyler's gray hoody, but she told herself that was because it was super comfortable. Period.

She was going stir crazy! She had to get out of here or at least, have someone come over here.

As if on cue, her cell phone buzzed with a text from Bonnie.

**I'm going insane waiting at my house. Can I come over? I have an idea. **

Caroline happily texted back: **Yes, please! What kind of idea?**

Caroline felt all jittery and nervous as she waited a few minutes for Bonnie to reply back. The reply was full of typos and errors, indicating either Bonnie needed glasses, or she was doing something.

**Somethinb Grams tolf me abouy once**. **I'll explain whem I get there.**

She sent back a quick "okay" and scrolled in her contacts to "Elena."

**Can u come over? Bonnie has some kind of witchy idea.**

**Ugh, can't. Jenna is watching over me. I'll try when she goes 2 work. **

Caroline frowned. She liked Jenna, but that was because Elena's aunt was sort of a teenager herself. She had rules of course, but she also let them get away with a lot. If she was holding them hostage, she must be extremely worried.

**Time?**

**3**

It was about two now, so they wouldn't have to wait that long.

**Okay, c u then.**

She wondered what Bonnie was up to. Caroline still wasn't a hard core believer in the "woo woo" but damn it, the recent events of her life were making her reevaluate certain things she thought were set in stone.

* * *

><p>Bonnie was experiencing a world pool of emotions. Fear. Curiosity. Excitement. Dread. She had been feeling all these things since yesterday, when she found out she was, in fact, not crazy and her weird little vision was a glimpse into the <em>future<em>. She hadn't wanted to admit the inevitable out loud, but she didn't seem to have much choice anymore.

She was a witch. A real, live witch, descended from Salem witches.

It was completely insane. She didn't know how to be a witch! Of course, Grams was there, but the woman was so vague and cryptic, she was more of a problem than a help. She _had_ given Bonnie the grimoire she was currently stuffing in her bag, along with candles, matches and her long sleeve T-shirt from yesterday in a bag, to go to Caroline's, though.

It was after she had gotten home and went into her bathroom for a shower did she see the small blood stain on her sleeve. At first, she had tried to convince herself that it was just her blood, but because she had no cuts or scrapes of any kind, she admitted it was Mr. Tanner's. Instead of screaming and burning the shirt, she remembered a spell Grams had read to her. It allowed you to slip into the person's head if you had something of theirs. A piece of clothing, a hair, jewelry, blood.

If Bonnie could successfully perform the spell, maybe she could see the face of the person who had killed Mr. Tanner. She couldn't go to the police department and say "I performed a spell to find out who killed Mr. Tanner. This is what he looked like!" but she could write a note or something and drop it off. Maybe that would lead them in the right direction and catch the freak who did it.

By the time she arrived at Caroline's house, it was around two thirty. She parked in the driveway, gathered her bag and bounded to the door.

Caroline opened the door and Bonnie quickly stepped in so Caroline could close and lock it. Clearly, she wasn't the only one who was a bit paranoid. When the door was securely locked, Caroline turned and said, "So what's going on?"

Bonnie felt a moment of insecurity. Could she really do this? Yes, she was a witch, but she was brand new. Could she really perform this spell? Would she get both their hopes up for nothing?

"Bonnie?" Caroline asked, looking worried.

"It's a spell," Bonnie said. She couldn't turn back now. "And if it works, I think I can find out who killed Mr. Tanner."

Caroline's blue eyes widened. "How? What do you have to do?"

"I don't know how to explain it exactly," Bonnie said, her eyebrows furrowing. "But if I understand it correctly, I might be able to get inside Mr. Tanner's head before he died. Like see what he saw right before he died."

"H-how?" Caroline looked a mixture of fascinated, curious and scared.

"I'm a witch, Care. Remember?"

"Right," Caroline said. "So what exactly do you need _me_ to do?"

Twenty minutes later, Bonnie and Caroline were sitting in Caroline's kitchen floor, looking at the finished product. They had set up a ritual site, so to speak: Five different candles were lit and arranged so each was the point of a star and in the center was a drawing in black paint - the symbol that would allow Bonnie to slip into Tanner's head before he died. If it worked, of course.

Caroline was studying the finished product, hands on her hips. "Is this right?" she asked, biting her lip.

Bonnie nodded, her curls bouncing against her shoulder. "It's right," she said. She reached for her bag and pulled out the shirt.

"What's that?" Caroline asked, curiously.

Bonnie bit her lip. "When I passed out, yesterday, I got Mr. Tanner's blood on my shirt. I'll put it in the center on the symbol. It's the only thing I have connected to him."

Caroline's eyebrows were furrowed. "But will it work? I mean, since it's your shirt? The shirt is connected to you, not Mr. Tanner."

Bonnie sighed. She'd thought of that before. "I know, but it's the only thing I've got."

The doorbell rang then, and Bonnie jumped.

"Sorry, it's Elena," Caroline explained. She jumped up and began down the hall. "I'll be right back."

Five minutes later, they were all sitting around the candles, ready to begin.

"Okay, so here's what's going to happen," Bonnie said, looking between her two best friends. "I'm going to place the part of the shirt with blood on that symbol right there, set it on fire and then say the spell. If it works, I'll slip into Tanner's mind and see who killed him."

"And if it doesn't work?" Elena asked, swallowing nervously.

"I don't know," Bonnie said, quietly.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Caroline asked. "What if it doesn't work, and you get hurt?"

"I have to try, Care," she said. She picked up the material - they had cut the section with the blood off - and placed it in the center of the star. "Ready?" she asked.

Elena and Caroline exchanged a brief worried glance, but nodded.

Bonnie lit a match and set the material on fire. After taking a deep breath, she began. The spell was in Latin, which most of the spells were. Even though she had never spoken the language before in her entire life, she felt comfortable saying the words, like she'd always known what they meant. She distantly saw the lights flicker and heard the gasps of her best friends.

Her body felt light and tingling. Her mind was becoming foggy and her vision was blurring. She felt as if her body had become a dead weight and her mind became air, lifting up, up and away from her body. She was floating.

And then-

_It was dark. So, so dark. And cold. Her arms - no, not her arms - had goose bumps on them. _

_Something was wrong. She didn't know what was, but something was wrong with the image in front of her. _

_A car. There was a car in front of her. It wasn't the car that was what was wrong though. It was something beside the car. A figure. The figure was nothing but a shadow, but she could tell it was a man. What was he doing at her car? She knew she should stop. This was bad. Very, very bad. Why couldn't she stop herself from walking forward?_

_The figure spoke. "Hello." It was definitely a man's voice. Smooth, calm, relaxed. Pleasant, even. So why didn't she trust him?_

_The figure stepped forward, but there was something wrong. She couldn't see his face. She should have been able to. He was standing right in front of her. Why couldn't she see his face?_

"_Can I help you?" she said, though it was not her voice. _

_Damn it, why couldn't she see his face? It was like looking at a silhouette. She could see the outline of him: he was fairly tall, and had short hair. He wasn't incredibly built, but he wasn't little either. But distinct details… they were impossible to make out._

_Suddenly, her vision went black and then brilliant white. The world began shaking and her head began spinning. Something was tugging her. Tugging her mind from Mr. Tanner's. Something, or someone was pulling her out of his head. With one final mental shove, she was thrown out of his head._

It wasn't the world that was shaking. She was. She was lying on her back looking up at the ceiling. Her body felt strangely sore.

"Oh, my god!" Caroline screeched, leaning over her. "Are you okay?"

Bonnie tried to sit up and winced. What the- "What happened?" Bonnie asked. She put a hand to her head. Why did her head hurt so badly?

"Y-you were just sitting still and then the flames jumped up and you went flying backwards," Elena said in a gust of breath. "You hit your head on the cabinet."

Ahh. That explained the headache. She rubbed the tender spot and frowned. What had gone wrong? She thought she said everything correctly, and it did work at first, but something… or someone stopped her. "I think someone stopped me from seeing the man's face," Bonnie said.

"Stopped?" Caroline squeaked.

Bonnie nodded.

"So it was a man? And that was all you could tell?"

She nodded again. "I need to go see my Grams and figure out what this means." She braced her hand on the floor and stood up slowly. She was a little sore, but she was hardly injured. Nevertheless, she lost her footing and grabbed onto Caroline's arms.

It happened immediately.

_She was in some kind of cellar or basement - somewhere dark and cold and old from the looks of the chains and walls. The air felt heavy and smelled heavily of sweat and something else. Something… earthy, maybe? No, not earthy. Musty. It smelled musty wherever she was. Somewhere in the distance, she heard the pitter pat of water hitting the ground. _

_She did a full body turn. Where on earth was she?_

_Suddenly, she heard a shout. No, not a shout. A scream. A scream of pure agony. _

_She strained to hear where the scream had come from, but the only sound was the water. And then another scream sounded and she was running in that direction. She wound through corners and twists and turns until finally, she came to an opening in the walls. There was a tall, dark door in front of her, looking like it had seen better days, She tugged on the handle. It didn't budge; it was locked. She tried again and again and again, all the while listening to someone's agonizing screams. _

_She pounded against the wall, yelling, trying to get in so she could help whoever was inside there. Was someone hurting them? Trying to kill them? _

_If got very, very quiet suddenly. She heard nothing but the sound of her heart pounding against her rib cage and her labored breathing. _

_Something hit the door, hard and fast, causing her to stumble backwards and scrape her hand against the stone wall. A small cracking line was beginning to form right down the center of the door, growing larger and large by the second as that _thing_ continued to hit the door. She heard a low, rumbling growl before the door burst open in a shower of wood and dust. _

When she came to, she was screaming. Someone was holding her down and it took her a few more seconds of screaming and thrashing to realize it was Caroline and Elena. They were wearing identical expressions of horror and concern.

"What just happened?" Caroline screeched, looking almost in tears.

"I-I-" Bonnie cut off and jumped to her feet, only swaying slightly. She held the counter for a few seconds so her head would stop spending, and then she was grabbing her grimoire and bag, blowing out the candles and then running down the hall.

"Bonnie, wait!" Caroline said.

"I have to go," Bonnie said. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

She had the door unlocked and was running to her car before Caroline and Elena reached the door.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I'm sorry if this chapter sounded a bit forced, because honestly, it was. This was not originally what I had planned, but my original plan was screwed up because of something I wrote a few chapters ago, so I had to improvise. I just wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way, so… yeah. Review?(:


	13. Chapter 13

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 13

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. AU.

**Author's Note**: Thank you everyone for your nice reviews; they make me smile (: So Thursday's episode… OMFG :D Amazing!

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><p>Friday<p>

If Caroline had learned one thing about Mystic Falls after living there for seventeen years, it was that when a tragedy struck, it moved on. The evidence was taken away, the streets were cleaned, and everything went back to normal. Mr. Tanner's body was no longer in the parking lot, coated in his own blood. The only evidence of his demise was the blood stain on the concrete and the yellow tape, blocking students from entering the parking lot. Caroline was the first to admit that he wasn't the best teacher, and from what she had heard from Matt and Tyler and others, he wasn't a great football coach either. He wasn't a man who would really be missed, but didn't he deserve more than to be swept underneath the rug? Caroline would think it was because of his poor character that he was so easily forgotten, if not for the same treatment with the animal attack victims a few months ago.

Mystic Falls was a safe, friendly little town. They couldn't have bodies all over the place, now could they?

"_It's better for things to go back to normal, Caroline. Someone lost their life, and it's a tragedy, but life goes on."_ Liz's words rang in Caroline's head from this morning, when she voiced her opinion to her mom. _"If we mourned the lives lost in this town for the rest of our lives, it would be a miserable one. You're still young, so you can't understand. But you will. One day you will."_

Caroline tried to put that conversation in the back of her head -it felt like a bad omen- but when she passed the parking lot with the blood stain and yellow tape, a baseball size lump formed in her throat and tears burned her eyes. She hurried past, wiping her eyes and telling herself to calm down. She'd been emotional all morning, and she'd put it off on PMS if she didn't know that wasn't it. All her emotions felt heightened and she felt overwhelmed, and she didn't understand why.

She felt like she was being crushed by a flood of emotions that weren't hers.

* * *

><p>Not long after she walked into her first block, it began raining. It wasn't the rain that bothered her -it wasn't all that uncommon for rain in October- but the way it was raining: Hard, fast and unforgiving, like the drops were hell bent on washing away everything they touched. Did it always rain like that? Was she just noticing?<p>

Or was it just raining and she was just looking too hard into things?

As she was staring out the window, pretending not to listen to her Algebra teacher going on about what a loss the school was suffering, and how much their beloved history teacher would be missed, someone poked her in the arm.

She jumped and swirled around, ready to jump down whoever had dare interrupt her brooding. She came face to face with a frightened looking freshman with braces and pretty green eyes.

Caroline raised an eyebrow.

The freshman -Alex, her name was?- held out a folded note.

"Here," the girl whispered.

"Thanks," she whispered, hoping to make up for her previous bitchiness and took the note. She snuck a quick glance at her teacher to make sure her wasn't looking, before unfolding it.

_Care, _it read. _I'm really sorry about telling Tyler to stay away from you and being such a dick lately. I was going to tell you all of this in person, but you've been ditching me so I had to revert to writing you a note like we're in middle school. I'll be at your locker after class. Meet me there so we can talk? -Matt._

Caroline turned back around. "Where did you get this?" she whispered.

"Matt told me to give it to you," she said. "He said it was important."

Caroline frowned, nodded and turned back around and reread the note over a few times. It sounded so… unlike Matt. He wasn't the romantic type, or even the sharing type. He just didn't do things like this. What was with the change of heart? Did he miss her and feel bad about what he did, or was something else going on?

For some reason she couldn't fathom, she felt like it was the latter. She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't want him to tell her he was sorry and he was wrong and he would make it up to her. She was so tired of hearing excuses and apologetics. She was so, so tired. She wanted him to just…. She didn't know what she wanted, but for the first time, she was beginning to think it wasn't him.

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><p>Despite her conflicting thoughts about her relationship a hour earlier, she still met with Matt at her locker. Maybe if she saw his pretty blue eyes and boyish face she would stop thinking about ending things. Maybe she would see why she loved him so much. Maybe she would stop feeling like something was crushing her.<p>

He was leaning against her locker with a worried expression. Did he think she wasn't going to show? When he saw her, his pretty blue eyes lit up, but they didn't mask the dark circles and obvious exhaustion. Had he slept as poorly as she had?

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she said.

He cleared is throat and looked down at his feet -his normal, awkward self. For some reason, it made her mad. He was the one who had done something wrong. Didn't he have the decency to at least look at her when he apologized?

She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, you wanted to talk to me?"

He rubbed the back of his head and looked at her. His eyes were begging her to just forgive him, to allow him not to go into some grand speech, declaring his love for her. She hoped her eyes said no.

"Yeah," he said. "Look, Caroline, I've been a jerk lately. I know that and I'm sorry. But I don't want to lose you because I was jealous. I want to resolve all this. I want to put it in the past to we can move forward."

_And what about what I want? _She thought. What _did_ she want? Did she want to talk to him and resolve this? Did she want to move forward, leaving this all in the past, and focus on the future. Their future? Together? She didn't know. She wanted something -she just didn't know what.

"Care?" he asked, eyes hopeful.

_Closure_, she thought. She wanted closure.

"I want to talk," she said. "I want to put this in the past."

"Good," he said, looking relieved. "How about we meet at the Grill around five thirty? After school, everyone in the team has to go to some meeting about what's gonna happen for the rest of the season, but after that?"

She nodded. "I'll see you then."

* * *

><p>Bonnie wasn't at lunch. According to Elena, she hadn't come to school. They both suspected it had something to do with yesterday, which still had them both terrified.<p>

"I didn't sleep at all last night," Elena said. She looked like it too. There were dark circles underneath her eyes and she was pale. "I just couldn't stop thinking about what happened yesterday."

"Me either," Caroline said weakly.

"I just hope she's okay. I've tried calling her and texting her, but her phone goes straight to voicemail. I even called her Grams, but she said that Bonnie wasn't feeling well enough to talk."

Caroline shuddered. "Of course she doesn't feel well. She was thrown against a cabinet by something neither of us could see."

Elena swallowed visibly. "What do you think is going on, Care?" she whispered. "I mean, honestly?"

"I wish I knew," she responded. "I have no idea. But whatever it is… it's out of our league."

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Classes, kind words about someone everyone secretly hated, notes, click of pens and the sound of rain smacking the windows. It hadn't stopped raining all day.

By the time Caroline walked into her last person history class, she felt drained physically and emotionally, scared and worried. What was going on with Bonnie? What was going on with Tyler? What was going on with _her_? Who would be there new history teacher? Who killed their old one?

So many questions, not one damn answer.

Well, she did get one, but it was the one she cared about least.

A man in his early thirties with golden brown hair and gray eyes was standing at the front of the room, looking awkward and uncomfortable, like he didn't know what he was doing. He was cute, she thought. In that boyish, awkward kind of way.

When everyone was seated, he cleared is throat. "Hello, everyone," he said. "My name is Alaric Saltzman and I'll be your new history teacher."

_Alaric Saltzman_, she thought. German, maybe? It sounded like a name straight out of a book.

He continued to tell his life story: always wanted to be a teacher, married young, wife died in a car accident, moved to Virginia to start over, hope he could measure up to their deceased teacher, blah blah blah. She stopped listening half way through.

After another hour, she was drumming her pencil on her desk, counting down the seconds to the bell. _Ten… nine… eight…_

"I like to end every class with a quote," Mr. Saltzman. "In hopes of someone actually pondering something meaningful instead of pondering what to write as their next Facebook update."

She raised an eyebrow.

"'The guilty is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness.'" The bell rang. As everyone began gathering their things and leaving the classroom, she was frozen. Frozen in place, those words echoing in her mind, over and over. _Coincidence_, she told herself as she began gathering her own things. _Coincidence. Nothing more. Nothing more than a coincidence._

* * *

><p>She didn't want togo home, she didn't want to go to Bonnie's or Elena's, she didn't want to go to the Grill. She didn't know where she wanted to go. So she drove aimlessly around town, pretending she knew where she was going. She passed streets and shops, people looking in the windows with their children tugging on their hands, asking to be bought something. She turned corners, stopping so people could pass. She drove and drove and drove, until finally, she realized where she was headed.<p>

The Lockwood mansion. It was just coming into view.

_What the hell?_

Shaking her head, she told herself it was because Tyler had been in the back of her mind all day. There was just something about that boy that kept her attention. His mood swings, his dark eyes, his secrets… he fascinated her and scared her, and gave her a rush like no one else seemed to be able to. And now that she was thinking about him in all parts of her mind, she couldn't seem to stop thinking about him. She wanted to talk to him-to understand why he was acting so weird lately- so instead of turning around, she parked on the side of the street and decided to walk to the door.

Just as she was about to round the trees that would put the mansion into view, she heard voices. She quickly took a step back behind a large trunk and waited for the voices again. A few seconds later, she heard Tyler. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but she peaked around the trunk anyway. He and Mason were standing by the car, talking in low voices.

She took a step forward in hopes of hearing better. A twig snapped underneath her foot and she cursed quietly. Mason's head snapped in her direction, but Tyler seemed oblivious as he continued to talk. She ducked behind the tree. Had he seen her?

She counted to sixty before peaking again. Mason was no longer looking at her, but instead talking to Tyler, who looked like he was going to throw up. Mason said something and Tyler nodded, then made his way into the house.

Another few seconds passed, with Mason glancing at the door, before he walked around to the other side of the car where a black book bag was rested against the tire. He unzipped it and pulled out a phone and began punching numbers.

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Her eyes widened and she reached into her pocket. Sure enough, the caller I.D. said Tyler. He knew she was standing there. There was no question. She raised the phone to her ear and answered with a tentative, "Hello?"

Mason was looking at her as he said, "You wanted to know what was going on. Here's your chance."

Before she could reply, he had placed the phone back into Tyler's bag and zipped it up. He moved to the other side of the car, leaning against it. He was the cover boy for cool, relaxed and with out a care.

She looked down at her screen. She was still connected.

What in the hell just happened? She looked up at Mason. As if he knew she was looking at him, he raised his eyes to meet hers. After a few seconds of locked eyes, he nodded and turned back toward the door. Tyler came into view with a black duffel back around his shoulder.

"_All set_?" she heard Mason's muffled voice say on her cell. _Oh my god_, she thought. He did that so she could here what they were talking about.

"_Yeah_," Tyler said. Muffled or not, she could hear the _wrongness_ of his voice. It was a mixture of fear and nervousness and something else.

"_We'll head out to the old Lockwood estate around five so we have plenty of time to set up_," Mason said.

Tyler ran a hand over his face and sighed. "_How long will it take to… How long after the moon rises_?"

Mason shrugged, looking completely calm- the exact opposite of Tyler. "_A minute, an hour. It's always different. We have to be prepared regardless_."

Tyler nodded, looking down at the ground.

Mason's relaxed, calm exterior gave way to a worried, tense one. He squeezed his nephew's shoulder, shaking it in what Caroline assumed was a guy way of comfort. "_It's all going to be okay, Tyler_," Mason said. "_Go get the rest of the stuff, alright?_"

Tyler nodded again and walked back inside the house.

Mason sighed and raked his hands through his hair before turning to her, nodding, and following in pursuit of Tyler.

* * *

><p>For at least the tenth time in the last two minutes, Caroline glanced down at her watch. It was five ten. Ten minutes after Mason said they needed to leave to go to the old Lockwood estate for…something. What was that something exactly? She had not the slightest clue, but she did know this: whatever it was, it was the answer to her question of "what was going on with Tyler." Mason made that very, very clear.<p>

Mason. He obviously knew what was up with Tyler. He knew what Tyler was keeping from her. So why would he betray his nephew and let her in on their little secret? None of it made since.

The intent, however, made perfect sense: Mason had given her the place where she could finally learn the truth. It was enough to make her stand up with the intent of driving down to the estate. But once she did, she would change her mind and sit right back down.

She couldn't make up her mind. Did she go, or did she stay? It seemed like the answer would be obvious: of course she should go. She wanted to know the truth. This was her chance. But another part of her knew that whatever she found out tonight could change everything. She didn't know how she knew this, but she did. Could she handle what would happen? Nervousness and fear settled in her stomach.

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. What was she suppose to do?

Her phone rang then, and she thought for a wild second it was Tyler- or Mason- but her screen read Bonnie.

"Hey, Bonnie I'm so glad you called! I've been-"

"Caroline!" Bonnie said. Her voice was tight and full of panic.

Caroline's stomach clenched. Something was very, very wrong.

"Bonnie, what's going on?"

"Listen to me," she said, stressing each word. "Yesterday, right before I left, I had another vision."

Caroline listened intently, as if Bonnie's words were the difference between life and death. For all she knew, maybe they were. "I'm listening."

"I couldn't figure out what was happening, but I knew someone was hurt," Bonnie said. "I couldn't figure out who it was, but I know now."

There was a pause.

"Caroline, it's Tyler," she said. "Something is seriously wrong with Tyler."

Caroline's whole world titled and her vision blurred. She barely heard what Bonnie was saying.

"He's locked up somewhere," she continued. "In a cell or a basement or something. But I don't know where! We have to find it, or I don't know what will happen!"

Mason's voice echoed in her voice. _We'll head out to the old Lockwood estate around five so we have plenty of time to set up_. The old Lockwood Estate. He was there.

"I know where he is!" Caroline exclaimed, standing up and grabbing her keys. "I'll find him and get help!"

"But wait, Caroline. He-"

She didn't wait to hear what Bonnie was about to say. She dropped her phone on the couch and ran outside to her car.

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><p><strong>AU: **I know I said this chapter was when Tyler shifted, but it's actually going to be the next. Next chapter is going to have some serious Forwood action!

Alright, so I've dropped a hint somewhere in this story that is the answer to a question that I've left hanging since the beginning. The first person to guess it correctly gets an exclusive sneak preview of the next chapter, which picks right up where this left off! (:


	14. Chapter 14

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 14

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. AU.

**Author's Note**: I'm so sorry. I wish I could say I was out of town feeding hungry children or something useful, but honestly I've just been lazy. Anyway, I listened to "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls on repeat while writing this chapter. I think it pretty much describes the mood and I would highly recommend listening to it while reading. (:

* * *

><p>Friday<p>

Once upon a time, when all their lives were normal- no one had a clue who the Salvatore brothers were, Mr. Tanner was alive, Mason Lockwood was just a rumor, Tyler was a dickhead jock and Matt and Elena were still dating- Tyler used to throw parties on the land of the old Lockwood estate almost every weekend. It was the perfect spot to blast music and drink beer without getting the police called on you. It was far enough from the road that if a car drove by, they would never know what was going on.

Caroline knew where the land was very, very well. The brightness of the day was dimming as she sped down the roads that would lead her to her destination. She used to love when it would get dark so early. Something about it intrigued her, made her curious. What mysteries happened in the darkness? Now she didn't want to know.

The trees blurred at the speed she was going, everything turning a dark, dark green. Everything seemed to be screaming ominous. Danger. Which seemed crazy, didn't it? Darkness itself wasn't dangerous; what was in the darkness was what she should fear. _"'The guilty is not he who commit's the sin, but the one who causes the darkness.'" _

She shivered. After kicking up the heat, she glanced at the clock on her dashboard. It was 5:30 and the sun was slowly beginning to set, casting a shadow on the already dark trees surrounding her. The moon would be maybe forty-five minutes- an hour tops- from rising. Whatever was happening, the moon was the key.

She racked her brain for a possible explanation. She just couldn't find one. She took every clue, every off thing about Tyler, every sentence with a double meaning, every stare, but none of it added up to one solid answer. Even though she hadn't expected to find one, it still frustrated her. Two plus two did not equal four in her life lately.

Lost so deeply in her thoughts, she almost missed the turn into what would lead to the old Lockwood land. It was just wide enough for a car to fit through, with grass hiding the road that had once been there and overgrown trees. If you didn't know what you were looking for, it was easy to miss. She turned and slowly crept her way through the trees, even though she wanted to go as fast as her car would allow her to. She couldn't afford missing something because she was traveling at a ridiculous speed.

The spot where the actual mansion used to be was about a mile from the turn off and the ground became more rough and dense. She was sure her car wouldn't make it all the way without losing a part or two. She would have to stop at some point and start walking. With that in mind, she hoped she would see Tyler's car or even better: Tyler, before that point came.

A minute or so later, when nothing but nothing stretched in front of her, her car was beginning to make noises that made her uncomfortable. She accepted she wasn't going to find what she was looking for unless she was on foot. She slowed to a stop and turned off her car.

The air outside had gotten much colder than when she first left the house and she found herself shivering instantly. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and began walking, following the dirt path. Nothing but trees surrounded her, but she couldn't help but feel like someone was watching her. It was more than likely just her imagination- she'd seen a million movies where a blonde is walking through the woods by herself. Still, when a rabbit jumped out from behind a tree and ran in front of her, she jumped a good two feet in the air and let out a half choked girly squeal.

Taking a deep, shaking breath, she fixed her gaze straight ahead and began walking faster than before. It wouldn't be long now before the moon finished rising - maybe twenty minutes, if that much. The steady pounding of her feet on the dirt steadied her heartbeat and she began to focus. She could see tire tracks leading down the path, so she followed those.

As she walked on, the sound of her feet no longer comforted her, and she found fear rising in her throat, choking her. What exactly was she going to find at the end of those tire tracks? It wasn't going to be pretty, she knew that, but how bad would it be?

She was so lost in her thoughts, she was surprised to see Tyler's car just a few yards ahead of her. The thick trees made seeing inside the already darkly tented windows even more difficult, so she hesitantly walked up and pressed her face up against the glass. She found exactly what she expected to find: nothing. The car was lacking Mason, Tyler and the bags she saw earlier. Where were they?

There was nothing around here but trees. There were no buildings or sheds, no houses or shacks. For miles, it was just trees. Were they out, somewhere deep within the woods? Should she go look for them? Or should she just give up? Sighing, she lifted her head to the sky in frustration. The moon was nearly fully risen now, a bright spot in the otherwise black sky. No, she wouldn't leave. Not until she found out what was going on. "Where are you, Tyler?" she asked the sky.

She hadn't expected to hear anything in response. She hadn't expected to hear a human voice. And she certainly hadn't expected a scream. It sounded far away and distorted, but it was no doubt a human scream. She recognized the voice as if it were here own.

It was Tyler's.

In that moment, she forgot everything. She forgot she was in the woods, scared and confused, desperately searching for answers. She forgot about Mason's strange actions earlier, and how the town seemed to be going to hell. Her mind cleared of everything but _him_.

Somewhere between hearing the scream and registering it belonged to him, she started running. Where to? She had no idea. He had to be close though. He was somewhere near and damn it, she was going to find him. As she turned around the car, she saw it. It was at least five feet off the ground and made of stone, stairs leading up into it. It took her mind a few seconds before she remembered what it was: the entrance to the old Lockwood slave quarters. She remembered a few years back at an old party when they were all young and hammered, Tyler had told her the story of the abused slaves, whose ghosts still haunted the quarters and how if you listened hard enough, you could still hear them screaming. It was all fake of course- the story. Carol and Richard Lockwood never talked about those days, so Tyler's story was just that: a story meant to scare her naive fifteen year old self.

Somehow knowing he was down there, she went to the stairs, taking them two at a time before stopping when she got to the top. A long, dark set of stairs greeted her. They were covered in cracks, dirt and weeds from many, many years of abandonment. She peered down into the darkness of the end of the stairs, trying to see what was down there. It was too dark to see anything more than outlines of chunks of stones that had broken off from the walls. She looked around for a flashlight or matches or anything that would give her a little light. There was nothing.

She cursed and took the first step, the feeling of fear making its way up her chest before settling it her throat, nearly choking her. _Tyler_, she reminded herself. _He's down here_. Repeating that in her mind over and over, she began down the stairs slowly, trailing her arm down the wall as somewhat of a guide. She stopped about halfway through to listen. There was the sound of water dripping, but other than that it was quiet. She began walking again. As her eyes adjusted, she was able to see more things: the color of the walls, the footprints in the dirt.

It was still so dark down there, so she kept a hand on the wall and moved slowly, as to not trip over anything. She peered down at the ground, following the footprints. She was so absorbed in looking at her feet, she forgot about her hand. A sharp, broken piece of stone raked across her palm, slicing it open. She cursed and looked down. The cut was maybe an inch in length and was slowly swelling with blood. She squeezed her palm shut and continued.

A few steps later, a piercing scream broke through the silence that had been in the cellar, like nails on a chalkboard. It was so full of agony, Caroline found herself frozen in spot. She'd never heard anything like that. Only the realization that the scream belonged to _Tyler- _there was no doubt about it. It was him_-_ kept her moving. It had come from farther within the cellar, closer to the back than the front. She began running through the darkness. Just when she wasn't sure where to go, another scream cut through the air and she followed it to the very end.

She was greeted by a dead end in front of her, a wall to her right and a tall, dark door to her left. She could see light shining through the inch of space separating the door from the ground. A wooden board acted as a lock on the door. She wiggled it free and opened the door.

The light was coming from deeper within the cellar, beyond a barred, locked door. She went to it, peering inside beyond it. She couldn't see him, but she saw his bags from earlier. The lock was a basic combination lock, the kind with the combination on the back.

She turned it and read the numbers. Her fingers shook as she fumbled with it. _17... 44... 08_. It clicked and she pulled it down, yanking it from the lock. She pulled the chains off the door and opened it, making her way inside the small cellar.

She took a split second to take everything in. The walls were dirty jagged stones, water leaving dark trails. There were scratches on the wall to her right, as if an animal had tried to claw its way out. Water dripped from the ceiling, soaking the dirt it landed on. The floor was a combination of rocks and dirt, dry and cracked from a lifetime of no water. Two lanterns illuminated the room, one on either side of the small cellar. The thing that held her attention the most though, was Tyler. His wrists, ankles, torso and neck were all chained, connected to the wall. He was laying stomach down on the dirt, his hands on either side of his head and his head turned away from her.

One second, she was standing by the door gaping and the next she was dropping down on her knees beside him, her hands already reaching out to touch him. His skin was burning hot. "Tyler?" she squeaked.

The sound of her voice stirred him, and he slowly moved his head. His face was flushed and his hair was soaked with sweat, eyes confused. "Caroline?" he asked roughly. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," she breathed, eyeing the chains. "But right now, forget the questions. We have to get you out of here." She had no idea what was going on. She didn't no if Mason hurt him, chained him up and locked him down here. She didn't know what the hell was going on, but she knew it was bad.

She reached for the chain around his neck, having no idea how to unlock it. He jerked away from her, startling her. "Tyler?"

"No," he said. He pushed his hands against the ground, trying to sit up.

She reached out her hand to stop him, but he simply shrugged her hand off. When he was upright, he looked seriously into her eyes. "You have to leave, Caroline," he said. "Right now."

She heard the words coming from his mouth, but she didn't understand. She found herself shaking her head, her blonde curls bouncing around her face. "No," she said. "I won't leave. Not unless you're with me."

"Caroline, I-" he cut off suddenly, his breathing picking up. He closed his eyes and squeezed his hands into fists.

"Tyler?" she asked panicked, looking him over for a wound or anything that would explain his sudden distress. She couldn't see anything. There were a few cuts and scrapes on his skin from laying on the rocks, but nothing that would explain any of this. "What's going on?"

She didn't notice him open his eyes until he was grabbing her by the upper arms. "Listen to me, Care," he said, eyes desperate. "There is so much you don't know, so much that I didn't want you to find out."

"Tyler-"

"No," he cut her off, hands tightening around her arms. "Listen to me. For once in your life, just listen to me. I will explain everything, but not right now. Now here. Right now, the only thing you can do to help me is leave. Get as far from here as possible and do not turn around."

"I am not leaving you!" she yelled, worry and confusion making her eyes fill with tears.

Something in his eyes softened, and he moved his hands from her arms to her neck, tangling his hands in her curls. "I will explain everything," he said softly. "I swear I will, but not unless you leave."

"Why?" she asked, her voice sounding broken and pathetic.

"Because it isn't safe for you-" he cut off suddenly, gasping. His hands dropped from her neck to the floor, trying to hold himself up. It all happened so fast: one second, he was right there- solid, real, _Tyler_. The next, his arm was shooting out in the air, as if it had been yanked, and _broke_. She heard the snap, immediately followed by Tyler's scream of pain. His arm bended backwards by itself, snapping and twisting, darkening in color, muscles bulging. She may have screamed too- she wasn't sure.

Everything was in fast forward. Tyler's heart wrenching screams turned into something else- a shout for someone. Before she could process who he had called out for, strong arms were wrapping themselves around her waist, pulling her away from Tyler. She knew it was Mason without turning around. She struggled, tried to break free of his grip on her, but it was all too no prevail. He was too strong.

She screamed Tyler's name over and over as Mason drug her away from the cellar. She kicked and hit and clawed, but he hardly seemed to notice. It was like she was a playful kitten for all the progress she was making. "Mason, let go of me!" she screeched, Tyler slowly leaving her view. They were at the door now- a second more and he would be out of her site.

As Mason drug her that last few feet, she heard Tyler say her name and she would swear on her life she saw his eyes flash a burning amber.

* * *

><p>Mason all but carried her the rest of the way, as she was no longer able to put up a fight. All of her energy and determination was back there with Tyler, who she had no idea what was happening to.<p>

The night sky was suddenly in view, fresh, cool air rustling her hair and filling her lungs with oxygen, chasing out the claustrophobic, musty air of the cellar.

"Can you stand?" Mason asked.

What kind of question was that? Of course she could stand. "Yes," she snapped, her voice coming out much more stronger than she felt. He released her immediately and much to her embarrassment, she swayed a little. She quickly regained her balance, refusing to pass out in front of him. As far as she knew, he was the enemy.

"What in the hell is happening down there?" she asked, turning to face him. He looked… off. Not bad exactly, just not quite right. His cheeks were slightly flushed and tiny little drops of sweat were beginning to form between his brow.

"He's-" he stopped, taking a breath and wiping a hand over his face. "You wanted to know the truth, Caroline. This is the truth. But I think you need to hear it from him, not me."

"Like hell!" she shouted, finding her fire. "I think you need to tell me what's going on before I call the cops!"

His eyes narrowed slightly and the thought occurred to her that she should probably be afraid of him. He was about four times her size. They were in the middle of the woods. No one knew where she saw. But no, he was Tyler's uncle… who seemed perfectly okay with having his nephew chained in a cellar with god knows what happening to him.

"No you won't," he said confidently. "Because that won't help anymore. Especially not Tyler."

She scoffed. "Tyler needs to go to a hospital or-"

"No, he doesn't," Mason snapped. "You can not involve anyone else in this, Caroline. Listen to me. Are you listening?"

"Yes! I hear what you're saying; I just don't understand it!"

"I know you don't," he said. "And you won't until he explains everything to you. Right now, I need you to go home and keep quiet. When it's possible, he'll find you and explain everything."

"No," she said. "I'm not going home until I know what's going on."

Mason puffed out a breath like she was an obnoxious, pushy, hard-headed teenager, which she would proudly admit she was. "Fine, then go to our house. Carol isn't home. There's a key under a pot on the front porch. Let yourself in and wait for us to get home."

She weighed that option. It was probably the best she was going to get. "Fine," she snapped. "But if you aren't home by the time the sun comes up, I swear to god this place will be swarming with cops. And I will _not_ hesitate to give them your name."

His lip twitched, whether from amusement or annoyance she wasn't sure. She didn't stay around long enough to find out. She walked the distance back to her car, which turned out not to be as far away as she thought. She got in, slammed the door and turned around, heading back out the way she came.

* * *

><p>Now that all of her bravery and fire was gone, Caroline felt... numb as she drove down the familiar roads of Mystic Falls, leading to the Lockwood Estate. Her mind was going fuzzy around the edges, black and white and gray eating at her vision. There was the strangest high pitched noise inside her head. She probably shouldn't be driving. But she didn't care. Sanity was elsewhere. Sanity was back in the woods, back in that cellar. With Tyler and Mason. Tyler. Was he dying? He had to be dying. Whatever she had seen... it wasn't normal... it wasn't... human. The body couldn't do that by itself. But it was. Caroline had seen in with her own two eyes.<p>

Maybe she _should_ call the police, despite her deal with Mason. Maybe Tyler was dying and Mason was hurting him. She couldn't just leave him there, could she? He was hurt. He was screaming, but Mason told her to leave. They _both_ told her that. He told her she couldn't get help for him. Why would he do that?

_He knows something you don't._

Those words repeating themselves in her head were the only thing that kept her driving down that road and not panicking or calling 911. Whatever Caroline had seen back there, Mason knew what it was. Mason would help. He had to help him.

The Lockwood Estate came into view and Caroline pulled in the driveway, thankful that Mason had been honest when he said Carol wasn't home. No lights were on and no cars were parked in the long driveway.

She parked her car and shut it off, sticking the keys in her pocket. The air outside felt colder than it had earlier. She wondered if the temperature dropped or if she was imagining things. She didn't care enough to really think about it so she didn't. Instead, she walked up to the giant doors and reached underneath the small flower pot. Just like Mason had said, a silver key was laying underneath it. She reached down and picked it up. As she stuck the key into the lock and turned, she felt like an intruder, like she didn't belong there. But that didn't stop her from pushing open the doors and walking in. She shoved the key in her pocket with her own and walked to the living room. Everything in the entire house was big and extravagant, hinting of money and taste, but Caroline had never thought the house was a home. It felt like something out of a magazine: it was beautiful to look at but you could never really imagine someone living there.

She sat on a soft red couch and stared at nothing in particular, waiting.

She felt like she waited a very, very long time for something to change. And finally, something did. The calm, quiet that had been surrounding her and the house was broken by the sound of a car coming down the driveway. And then it stopped. She heard two doors open and then shut. She heard the click of the lock and the door being pushed opened. Lights flicked on and she blinked at the sudden brightness. She walked towards the door, terrified of what she was going to see.

Tyler and Mason were standing in front of the door, both looking exhausted. Mason's face was cautious as he watched Caroline, waiting for her reaction. Tyler, however, was looking down at the floor. He was perfectly fine. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and black basketball shorts. There wasn't a scratch on him. She couldn't believe it.

"Thank you," Mason said, breaking the silence. "For not calling anyone."

She swallowed. "I- you said you would explain," she reminded him.

He nodded and glanced back at Tyler, who was still looking at the floor like he was memorizing the patterns. "Tyler," Mason said quietly.

Tyler looked up and Caroline almost gasped. Something about his face was different. It was... blank. Like the person who had occupied his body was gone, leaving just an empty shell. That looked scared her.

"I think you should take her upstairs," Mason said, glancing at Caroline. "Explain things."

Caroline was watching Tyler's every move, but he hadn't looked at her once. He simply nodded at Mason and began walking upstairs. Caroline glanced at Mason, who was giving her a knowing look, as if he was trying to tell her something with his eyes, before following Tyler up the stairs.

She followed him down the hall to a door. Tyler opened it and stepped in. She walked in and he shut the door behind him. His room had more of a homey feel to it than any other part of the house. It was like she imagined a normal teenage boy's room. It was a little messy; various clothes and bags and CDs were scattered around the floor. There was a large entertainment system with at least fifty DVDs piled up beside it, a black dresser, a black desk with a laptop on it, a large bed with a gray and black comforter and pictures and shelves hung to the wall. She could see Tyler there; it fit him.

He didn't turn on a light, but his windows filled the room with just enough light to allow Caroline to see everything. Tyler just stood there, unmoving, silent.

She was growing more and more scared. Scared for him... scared for the truth... scared for what she had seen. "Tyler," she said, her voice cracking. "Please, tell me what's going on."

He remained quiet but walked to the edge of his bed and sat down. He leaned down, resting his elbows on his knees and tangling his fingers in his short, dark hair. She moved slowly to him, unsure of what to do. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but was scared to. Instead, she sat down a few inches away from him. "Tyler."

She saw his knuckles tighten. "I didn't want you to find out," he said, speaking for the time. His voice was hoarse and scratchy, like it had been overused.

"Find what out?" she asked, her stomach tightening.

"But then tonight you came in there and I..." he trailed off.

She shuddered as she remembered. "Tell me the truth," she begged. "Tell me what's going on with you."

His hands dropped from his head and he looked up suddenly, staring into her eyes. Again, she almost gasped. His eyes didn't hold the blankness his face had held. His eyes looked haunted, like he'd seen something so horrific he would never, ever be the same. Somewhere mixed with all that horror was vulnerability, fear, anxiety.

"I don't want you to be afraid of me," he whispered.

"I won't," she didn't hesitate to say. She was afraid, but it wasn't of him. She could never be afraid of him.

He shook his head and closed his eyes. "You will be."

"I'll never be afraid of you Tyler," Caroline said softly. "I promise."

He shook his head, slowly. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Caroline."

"Hey," she said and reached for his hand. His skin was hot. Too hot, like he had a fever. She almost pulled back, but she didn't. She wrapped her fingers around his, squeezing tightly. She may not of known what the hell was going on, but she knew that Tyler was vulnerable and scared right now. He needed someone to be brave for him for once, instead of the other way around. "Tyler look at me."

He opened his eyes, looking into hers.

"I will never be afraid of you," she said assuredly. "No matter what you tell me, you will still be Tyler to me."

He stood up suddenly, pulling away from her. "I'm not just Tyler anymore," he said.

She stood too, feeling something bubbly up in her chest. When she opened her mouth to speak, she wasn't sure if it was gong to be a shout or a cry. "Really?" she asked, voice shaking. "Because you still look exactly the same way you did yesterday."

"Well, I'm not," he snapped, turning from her. She knew that tone, that stiffness of his shoulders. He was shutting her out. After everything, he was shutting her out.

She felt the hot, prickling feeling of anger rise in her chest, making her cheeks flush and her heart beat faster. "You are not allowed to shut me out, Tyler Lockwood," she said, her voice full of controlled fury. "Not after everything that's happened. I thought you were dying. I wasn't sure I was ever going to see you again. Do you know what that was like? Thinking that you might be dead? I was-" She didn't even know the words to explain the pain that radiated through her chest at the thought of him dead. It was crippling.

Suddenly, he was standing in front of her, invading her personal space. His face was just inches from hers, his body so close she could feel the heat radiating from his skin. Her back was pressed against the wall and his hands were on either side of her head. His chocolate brown eyes were peering into hers with such intensity, her bones felt like putty.

"Why do you care?" he asked softly.

Her mind was all fuzzy from the proximity of him. "I-I," she stammered. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said, "why would you give a damn if something happened to me? You don't even like me. You never have."

She shook her head. "I care about you," she said breathily. "I don't know why or when you became more than my boyfriend's douchy best friend and that kid I grew up with, but you did. The idea of something happening to you… I don't even want to think about it. It hurts too much."

The decision he had been trying to make while listening to her had clearly been made. His eyes were full of acceptance, a little worry deep down. Either way, he had clearly made his mind up. "If I tell you," he said, "do you promise not to run away? Do you promise to listen to everything I have to say before making any decisions?"

It was clear from the look in his eyes he was going to tell her regardless of how she answered him. Even so, she found herself saying, "Nothing you say will ever make me run away from you, Ty. I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

><p>He'd told her to sit down. Initially she had refused. She wasn't weak. She was strong. She could handle this. After a good ten minutes of threatening, begging, pleading and finally an exhausted sigh, puppy dog eyes and a "please, Care?" she sat. And she was so damn glad she did.<p>

The moment he said the word "werewolf" her bones turned to mush and she sank down into his bed, feeling as if the weight of the world literally just crashed down on her shoulder. And it only got worse as he went on to tell her about his family werewolf gene and how killing Sarah triggered it. Back in the cellar- that was him _turning_ for the first time. He told her about how Mason was also a werewolf. His gene was triggered after getting into a fight with a friend and accidentally bashing his head in. She listened and listened, her world tumbling down around her.

When he finished, he simply looked at her, watching, waiting for her reaction. She couldn't speak. Words escaped her. Tyler was a werewolf. A werewolf. Tyler Lockwood. She couldn't even process it. It was impossible, wasn't it? Werewolf was right up there with vampires and the tooth fairy. Stuff like that just didn't exist. But it did. Now that she had a name for it, it made so much sense. Why he was acting so weird, all the secrets and lies, the physical changes. Tyler was a werewolf.

She felt like she was going to be sick. Tyler looked worried- worried about her! He was a werewolf and he was worrying about her. She was really going to be sick. "Caroline?" he asked nervously. "You look green."

"I-" that was the best she could do right now. She swallowed and tried to gather her jumbled thoughts. "A werewolf," she finally managed to get out.

He nodded.

"Holy shit," she breathed.

He laughed a humorless laugh. "Yeah, tell me about it." He hesitated for a moment, mouth half opened as he mentally weighed an option in his head. "There's more," he said quietly.

"More?" she squeaked. What more could there possibly _be_?

He nodded shyly. Her stomach did a nervous plunge. Tyler wasn't the shy type. "Well" she asked, voice wavering. "What is it?"

He scratched the back of his head, looking down at the floor. "Well, you're um-" he laughed another dry, humorless laugh. "You're kind of my mate."

She stared at him. Had she heard him right? She repeated the sentence a few times in her head. It stayed the same each time. "Mate?" she asked.

He nodded, avoiding her gaze. "We're connected, Care," he said. "In a way that I don't even understand. Sometimes I feel what your fell, I share your dreams, I almost know what your thinking. I have been able to think of nothing but you since the day I triggered this curse."

If she was surprised before about the whole werewolf thing, she was completely shell-shocked by the whole mate thing. In the messy, tangles of secrets and lies that she'd been working so damn hard to fix, she was somehow a part of. She was a part of this.

She felt something dangerously close to panic rise in her throat. She'd read things about mates- of wolves at least. How once they find their mate, that's it. They rule the pack together, they spend forever together. She'd seen Twilight too. Her promise to not run suddenly seemed like a bad thing to promise him. This was nothing like she had expected. Her legs bunched with the need to run away. To run away from this new reality. From him.

But then she saw the look on his face- so sad, so broken, knowing she was about to run, and that feeling evaporated. This boy sitting in front of her was still Tyler. Still the obnoxious boy she grew up with. Still the boy who shared his lunch with her back in elementary school when she forgot hers. She knew him inside and out- the good, the bad, the otherwise.

She couldn't leave him. That would make her the monster he was so sure he was.

So instead of running, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tightly against her, just as the last walls of his control began to waver and for the first time in his life, he wasn't hiding what he felt. They sank into the bed like that and she stroked his hair and held his hand as he mourned everything he had lost, and faced everything he had become.

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><p>Review? : )<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

**Title**: Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter**: 15

**Summary**: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. AU.

**Author's Note**: Wooooohooo! Over 200 reviews (: You guys make me so happy. Sorry about the time it took for this update. A storm knocked out my internet and the people took their sweet time fixing it.

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><p>Maybe it was the way he slept with his lips slightly parted or the way his eyelashes seemed to fan over his cheeks that made him look so young and innocent. It was like all the bad just disappeared and he was at peace. It reminded her of before- not just before the werewolf curse was triggered, but before they grew out of their innocence. It reminded her of when they were little and the weight of the world hadn't touched their shoulders yet. When they were happy, content, carefree. <em>Young<em>.

She'd been watching him all night. Sometime after she embraced him last night, exhaustion had consumed him and he'd fallen asleep with his head on her shoulder. He'd stayed asleep as she pushed him down onto the bed, though he unconsciously fisted the material of her shirt in his hands. She hadn't wanted to wake him, so she laid down beside him and watched him sleep until the sun was high in the sky.

Goldenlight streamed through the windows, chasing away all the shadows that had surrounded them last night. In the light, the horrors of last night didn't seem possible. They seemed silly- something meant to scare children. Bathed in light, she could almost convince herself last night was just a dream. She could almost convince herself she wasn't in Tyler Lockwood's bed because he had broken down after telling her the truth. Almost.

Almost just wasn't good enough anymore. Almost wasn't enough to make her feel better. Almost wasn't enough to erase the panic she felt inside her, growing by the minute. Almost wasn't enough for her to ignore the truth.

Last night had opened an entirely new world to her- one that terrified the hell out of her. Not only was she introduced to it, she learned she was a part of it. Because of this boy laying beside her. This boy with his head on her shoulder and his hand on her stomach. This beautiful boy who terrified her and intrigued her and made her feel like no one else could. Whether it was making her want to scream or cry or laugh, he invoked things inside her that belonged to solely him.

There was no denying the hold he had on her. She'd felt it for quite awhile, though she had no name for it. Now that she had a name for it, she felt both relieved and terrified. Relieved because there wasn't something wrong her. Relieved because there was reason, logic behind her strange emotions. But the very same reason terrified the wits out of her. She was so deeply connected to him. She knew with certainty if she gave into this feeling inside of her, she'd never let him go.

She felt a different emotion bubble inside of her. It was one nearly as strong as the former: panic. This couldn't be her life. How did she begin to accept all of this? Her world had shattered into a million different pieces last night and staying with him wouldn't help her put the pieces back together. She needed normalcy and Tyler Lockwood couldn't give her that.

She'd promised him she wouldn't run him. She'd promised him that no matter what he told her, she would never leave him. But that was last night when she was in the dark and desperately searching for an answer. Now, in the light, she knew she was going to have to break that promise.

Bringing in a shuddering breath, she gently lifted his hand from her stomach and laid it on the mattress. She slowly wiggled her shoulder out from underneath him, careful not to wake him. She wasn't sure what she would say if he woke up. He was still breathing deeply- lost in sleep- when she stepped onto the floor. Even though she knew the expensive floor of his bedroom wouldn't creek, she still tiptoed all the way to the door and opened it slowly. She hesitated for a moment, watching his sleeping form. She felt something wet roll down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. "I'm sorry," she whispered and closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>She prayed all the way down the stairs that she wouldn't run into Mason. Something about him… unnerved her and it was more than the fact that he was a werewolf. Mason was just too… he was just too <em>something<em>.

She glanced over the banister of the stairs into the kitchen. Much to her relief, she saw no sign of Mason or anyone else for that matter. She nearly sprinted down the last few steps, taking them two at a time. _Just a little bit farther_, she thought to herself. _Just a little bit-_

He appeared literally out of nowhere. One second, she was alone and the next, Mason was standing in front of the door with his arms crossed over his chest and a hard expression on his face.

"Going somewhere?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She swallowed, suddenly feeling very nervous. "Yes, actually," she said, relieved that her voice didn't shake. "Home. Now if you'll excuse me."

He didn't move.

Shetried not to look intimidated, though it took a lot of effort. _Has Mason always been so big? _She thought to herself.

"You look nervous, Caroline," he said, tilting his head to the side in a faux-innocent manner. "I'm assuming Tyler told you _everything_ last night."

The way he said her name… it sparked something inside of her. Anger. "Right down to how you beat your friend to death," she quipped, narrowing her eyes at him. "Sorry if that makes me slightly uneasy around you."

"Don't look at me like that," he said, sounding more tired than mad. "You don't know the whole story."

"And I don't want to," she said. "I don't want to know about any of this actually."

"Yes you do," he said. "You wanted to know or else you wouldn't have come last night. After all, it's better to know the truth than to be left in the dark."

That's what she'd thought too. Now she wasn't so sure. "Not all the time," she said. "Sometimes whether you like it or not, being in the dark is best."

He chose to ignore that. "Where's Tyler?" he asked.

"Upstairs. Asleep."

He was quiet for a moment. For once, Caroline didn't try and fill the silence. She had nothing to say. Finally he said, "You aren't coming back, are you?"

She sighed and ran a hand over her face. "I need time," she said. "To process this and…" She couldn't bring herself to say "accept." She wasn't sure if that was possible.

"He's going to need you, you know," Mason said.

She ignored the little pain that shot through her chest. "He's been doing just fine without me."

Mason shook his head. "No, he hasn't."

"You can try and guilt trip me all you want," she said quietly. "But either way, I'm walking through that door."

He sighed. "I'm not trying to guilt trip you into anything, Caroline," Mason said. He sounded so genuine she almost believed him. "I'm just trying to make you understand that ignoring this won't make it go away. The more you fight it, the harder it will be."

She stood there with her arms crossed over her chest in silence. Deep down she knew that Mason was right, but she couldn't bring herself to go back upstairs and face what was waiting for her.

"You know I'm right," he said.

"Just- just tell Tyler I'm sorry," she said, feeling the sting in her eyes that meant she was close to crying. "Tell him he's strong and he doesn't need me."

"I won't lie to him," he said. "And I can't force you to stay, but you should know that he needs you in his life right now. Even if it's just as a friend, he needs you. Just because you put distance between the two of you, it won't make him need you any less. Think about that, would you?"

With that, he took a step to the side so she could leave.

She only hesitated a second before opening the door and walking to her car.

* * *

><p>She was only in the car for a minute before the tears came. She wasn't sure exactly what she was crying about. Maybe it was because of the mess her life had become or what Mason had said or maybe a combination of it all. She felt guilty for leaving, but relieved at the same time.<p>

She wiped her nose and glanced at the clock. Her eyes bugged a little when she saw the time. It was 2:04 in the afternoon.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh _crap_," she said, patting her pockets in search of her cell phone. She realized a minute later that she'd left her cell phone at home.

She was dead. Her mom was going to ground her, murder her, resurrect her from the dead and kill her again. She'd been gone for nearly twenty four hours without a word to anyone about where she was. Bonnie probably thought she was dead in a ditch somewhere after their conversation right before she went in search of Tyler.

She pushed down on the gas hoping that if she got home sooner, maybe her punishment would be a little less.

It took her a few miles to realize she didn't want to go home and face her mother. She didn't want to face anyone, but she had to let someone know she was okay. Having decided that, she turned left at the intersection and made her way to Bonnie's house.

* * *

><p>Only Bonnie's car was in the driveway of the Bennett's house when she pulled up, which she was fervently grateful for. She didn't want Mr. Bennett calling her mom.<p>

After cutting off the engine, Caroline made her way up to the door and knocked, her stomach doing little flip flops. Maybe Liz wouldn't even get the chance to kill her. Maybe Bonnie would do it first.

The door opened, revealing a very worried, very tired looking Bonnie. She was in jeans, an old t-shirt and no makeup. Dark bags formed crescent moons underneath her eyes, making her look older than seventeen.

The brunette's eyes widened when she realized it was Caroline. In a flash, she had reached out and crushed Caroline into a hug. The girl was a lot stronger than Caroline thought- she wouldn't be surprised if she had bruises.

"Ohmigod, Caroline I'm so happy you're okay!" Bonnie exclaimed, pulling back to look Caroline over. When she saw no visible sign of injuries, her eyes darkened. "Where in the hell have you been?" she all but yelled.

Before Caroline could defend herself or beg for mercy, Bonnie was pulling her into the house and shutting the door behind her. "Bonnie, I-" Caroline began.

"Do you know how worried I've been?" Bonnie said, her hands on her hips. "I have been calling you all night. I went out looking for you! Matt and I drove around all night trying to find you! I thought you were dead."

"I can explain- wait, did you say you and Matt were out looking for me?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah," Bonnie snapped. "He called me to ask if I knew where you were because apparently, you were suppose to meet him at the Grill but you never showed up."

Caroline opened her mouth to explain but Bonnie was pulling her cell phone out from her pocket and dialing a number. She didn't dare ask who it was.

"Hey Matt," Bonnie said. "Yeah. She's here. She's fine. I don't know. Can you call Elena and tell her she's okay? Thanks. Bye."

"Bonnie, I am so sorry," Caroline said the moment Bonnie hung up.

"Do you know how scared I was, Care?" Bonnie asked. "I tell you I think Tyler's in danger and you run off, saying you know where he is and then no one hears from you for nearly a day. I thought something had happened to you."

Caroline shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. After a pause she added, "And so is Tyler."

Bonnie's eyes widened. "You found him?"

She nodded.

"And he's okay?"

Caroline bit her lip and said, "He will be."

"So would you like to explain to me exactly what happened?"

Caroline wanted to tell Bonnie what had happened so bad it hurt. She wished with all her heart she could tell her, but she knew she couldn't. It wasn't her secret to tell. "I found Tyler," she said vaguely. "He wasn't hurt, but he needed me. I stayed at his house the entire night. I just left maybe twenty minutes ago."

"Is that all you're going to tell me? Are you _serious_?"

"I want to tell you," Caroline said, willing her friend to understand. "But I just can't. It isn't my story to tell. All you need to know is that Tyler and I are okay." _At least physically okay_, she added in her head.

While Bonnie was still visibly upset, all the anger had left her eyes. "Fine," she said, sounding resigned. "I respect that. I wish I didn't, but I do."

"Thank you," Caroline said, her shoulders sagging in relief. "If it makes you feel any better, my mom's going to kill me when I get home."

Bonnie chuckled, but shook her head. "She called last night asking where you were and I told her you were with me. I told her you were staying the night and wouldn't be home until later today."

Caroline felt a swell of happiness and crushed her best friend into a hug. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome," Bonnie said, returning the hug. "But if you ever do that again I will kick your ass."

"I know and I swear-" she was cut off by the sound of a knock on the door.

"Whose that?" Caroline asked.

Bonnie bit her lip, suddenly looking guilty. "Matt."

Caroline cursed and ran a hand through her hair. She wasn't ready for this conversation yet.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie said, "but he was just as worried as I was. You owe him an explanation."

"I know," Caroline said sighing. "I know."

With that, Bonnie walked to the door and opened it. Matt stormed in, looking like an angry bull in his brown jacket and jeans. He looked just as tired as Bonnie, but quite a bit more mad. She imagined steam coming out of his nose.

"I'll let you two talk," Bonnie said quietly and made her way up the stairs.

It wasn't until they heard Bonnie's door close that Matt started. "Where in the hell have you been?" he nearly growled.

"I-"

"We looked for you all night!" he exclaimed. "I wanted to call the police but Bonnie wouldn't let me. I thought something had happened to you, Care!"

"I now," she said quietly. "And I'm sorry for not calling anyone, but-"

"You better have a pretty damn good excuse," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Caroline took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she knew was about to come. "I was with Tyler," she said.

The anger seeped out of his eyes, replaced by shock and disbelief. He opened his mouth and then closed it. His eyebrows furrowed and finally he said, "Tyler?"

She nodded.

"And what exactly where you doing with Tyler all night and half the day?" he asked lowly, the anger making a slow reappearance.

"He needed me, Matt," Caroline said shrugging slightly. "I couldn't just leave him."

"He needed you?" Matt asked incredulously. "He needed you to do what exactly?"

"To be there," she said.

"Did something happen between you two?" he asked. "Tell me the truth."

"No," she said flatly. Was he honestly accusing her of cheating on him? With his _best friend? _What kind of girl did he think she was exactly?

"Of course it didn't," he said bitterly.

"It didn't!" Caroline said, her voice rising to nearly a shout.

"Yeah, right," Matt said. "I know Tyler well enough to know that with him, something always happens."

Caroline felt the irrational need to defend- to protect- Tyler. "If you knew him so well, you would know that he has been falling apart for the last few weeks. If you knew him so well, you would know that he needs someone to be there for him right now."

"And that someone is you," Matt said flatly.

"He has no one, Matt," Caroline said. "His dad is dead, his mom is hardly around. Mason is unreliable and his best friend is more concerned that his girlfriend is cheating on him than he is about anything else."

Matt's voice was cool as he said, "Tyler is a big boy. He doesn't need someone to hold his hand and tell him everything's going to be alright."

"He was a _wreck_ last night," Caroline said, trying to push the images that were threatening to creep up away. "Leaving him alone would have been cruel."

"So is making your friends and boyfriend worry to death," he countered.

Caroline threw her arms up in the air. "What do you want me to do, Matt?" she exclaimed. "Tell Tyler to deal with his own problems? Never talk to him again?"

"Yes," he said flatly.

Caroline laughed a humorless laugh. "That's not going to happen and the Matt that I know would never even suggest it. The Matt that I know would be worried about his best friend."

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm just not that guy anymore."

"Well then maybe you should just leave," she said coldly. "Because if you aren't that guy anymore, I don't want to be with this one."

The meaning behind her words seemed to register with him. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Shaking his head, he turned and stormed away. The sound of the door slamming seemed to echo throughout the entire house.

* * *

><p>As a side note, I made a Twitter account. I know, I know. I've crossed to the dark side. Anyway, follow me for story updatesideas/etc. Username: sarah_serenity

I know this chapter was kind of a whirl wind of emotions and I'm sorry for that. Next chapter will have lots of Forwood, a little action and a little insight as to what's really going on.


	16. Chapter 16

**Title:** Dirty Little Secret

**Chapter****:** 16

**Summary****:** Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her _all the time_ with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone, I'm sorry it took so long for an update. I blame it purely on laziness. So there are only going to be about another 4 or 5 chapters. Once I wrap this story up, I will be continuing with my other Forwood story, "Shh, Just Go With It" so that's something to look forward to.

* * *

><p>After Matt stormed out, Caroline had stayed with Bonnie for a few hours. She'd thought she was going to cry or at last feel depressed over her breakup with Matt, but she neither did, nor felt either. If anything, she felt relieved that they weren't together anymore. Deep down, she'd known that she and Matt were over. She'd already accepted it.<p>

However, what she hadn't accepted quite yet was the guilt she was feeling over leaving Tyler. It had begun to creep up on her at Bonnie's and now that she was home alone- her mom was out working, _again_- it was steadily increasing to the point of nearly choking her.

"Caroline?" Elena's worried voice asked from the other end of the phone. "You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry," Caroline said. She'd completely forgotten she was even on the phone with Elena and Bonnie. "I was just…"

"Are you sure you don't want us to come over?" Elena asked. Caroline could imagine the dark eyed girl's eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Caroline sighed. She'd only been on the phone with them for twenty minutes and after the "how are you?" and "are you going to be okay?" Elena had nonstop asked if she wanted them to come over. And the answer had remained the same: no. The last thing she wanted to do was have to pretend that she wasn't choking on her own guilt over Tyler. "No," she said for the umpteenth time.

"Are you-" Elena began.

Thankfully, Bonnie- God bless that girl- interrupted. "Elena, I think Caroline just needs some alone time. We can check on her tomorrow."

Caroline sighed in relief. Yes, alone time. That's exactly what she needed.

Caroline heard Elena sigh. "Fine fine! But we're calling you first thing in the morning and we're all going out for lunch!"

"Deal," Caroline said. "I'll see you two tomorrow okay?"

"Okay," Elena said at the same time Bonnie said, "Night, Care!"

"Night," Caroline said and hung up. She glanced down at her phone. It was 10:30. Even though she felt mentally exhausted, her body was still energized from sleeping all day. Sleep was definitely out of the question, but she couldn't just sit here in her room all night and twiddle her thumbs. Or even worse, _think_. Thinking would be very bad right now.

After another few minutes of sitting crossed legged on her bed, she decided to go downstairs and watch a movie. She highly doubted it would hold her attention, but she could at least try.

She got up, tossed her cell phone on the bed and began gathering the must haves: a blanket, tissues and a pillow. She gathered them all in her hands and made her way downstairs, careful not to trip and fall. The last thing she needed was a broken ankle or worse, a broken spine.

She barely registered throwing everything down on the couch and grabbing a movie. It was a comedy- one that she'd never seen. She popped it into the DVD player and settled down into the couch.

Before the opening credits ended, she was crying. Like _really_ crying. The kind of crying where your vision blurs to gray and your chest tightens and you shake from head to toe. She'd only cried like this once before: when her dad left. In comparison, this was worse. Her dad leaving was out of her control. She couldn't have stopped him from walking out of their lives whether she wanted to or not. She could have chosen not to walk away from Tyler, but she did.

This afternoon, leaving made sense. Leaving would mean she could go back to her life and forget about werewolves and mating. She could just be _Caroline_ again. But this- this girl she was right now wasn't Caroline. This girl was weak and scared and selfish. This girl sat crying on the couch instead of facing her problems. Caroline hated herself for being this girl.

But here she sat, crying over how bad her life was when really, she should be with Tyler-assuring him that everything was going to be okay despite the fact that his life was changed forever. And in so many more ways than hers was.

How could she be so _selfish? _How could she just _leave_ him? She wished she'd stayed in bed with him and waited until he'd woken up so they could talk. She wished she wouldn't have broken her promise to him. More than anything, she wished she was with him right now.

She couldn't do anything about the others, but she could for damn sure do something about the last. Feeling a lot more like Caroline, she shut off the TV and stood up. She turned to head upstairs when she saw something. No, not a something. A _someone_. A man with a scar on his cheek was looking right at her, a blank expression on his face. She knew this man. This was the man who had harassed her at the Sexy Suds car wash. He cocked his head to the side when he saw her looking and gave her a wicked smile. He winked at her and suddenly the window exploded, shooting shards of glass everywhere. She felt one hit her face and then the warm flow of blood.

She let out a terrified scream and ran upstairs. The smart thing to do would have been to run into the kitchen and dial 911, but the thinking portion of her brain had fallen to the floor the second she saw the man and survival instincts had kicked in.

She ran up the stairs with lightning speed (how she didn't trip and fall she'd never know) and ran to her bedroom. She locked the door behind her and a quick glance at her windows showed they were locked. She turned frantically, looking for a phone or a weapon or anything! And then she saw the most beautiful thing ever- her cell phone. She lunged for it, intention being to call 911. But as she dialed, she found it wasn't 911 she was dialing. It was a much different number.

* * *

><p>Tyler was terrified. He had no idea why. One minute he was sitting on the couch beside Mason watching some lame movie, not so secretly brooding over Caroline and then bam! He was choking on fear. He realized that it must have been Caroline's fear the moment his cell phone rang, showing her name and picture. He picked it up. "Caroline, what's wrong?" he asked, already standing up.<p>

"He was in the window!" she sobbed. "I saw him! Oh god, Tyler, he was watching me!"

Anger burned inside him and he was already out in the hall, grabbing his keys. He felt Mason following him, the sound of the movie still behind him. "Who?" Tyler asked. "Who was in the window?"

"The man from the Sexy Suds carwash!" she cried. "With the s-scar on his cheek."

Realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he began running to his car. "Alright, listen to me, okay?" he asked, trying to sound calm for her sake. "I'm on my way right now. I'll be there in less than 5 minutes. Go in you bathroom and lock the door."

Mason was already in the passenger seat and before she could reply, they were driving down his driveway at a dangerous speed.

"O-okay!" she said, her voice shaking uncontrollably. He heard what sounded like furniture sliding across the floor and then rustling, before finally the slam of a door. "Don't hang up."

"I'm not," he assured. "I promise. Did he try to come inside?" He was trying to hide the panic and fury in his voice so he didn't scare her even worse, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The thought of someone-

"No," she said. "He was just looking in the window, watching me and then he-he-"

She was talking so quickly, he could barely understand what she saying. "What'd he do?"

"The window! I-it exploded and glass went everywhere!"

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," she said, taking a deep breath to steady her voice. "A piece cut my face but nothing s-serious."

The fury doubled and he felt his eyes change into something less than human. This must have been what Mason had said would happen if he got too upset- his inner wolf or whatever would try and escape. "You're going to be okay," he promised. "He's not going to hurt you and I'm going to be there in just a minute."

"Hurry!" she said. "Please, I want to leave."

He clutched the steering wheel and pushed his foot down on the pedal, the car lurching forward. Surprisingly everything around him didn't blur. He could still see everything, like he would see if he was going ten miles per hour instead of seventy.

"Tyler, slow down," Mason warned. "It's not going to help her if you wrap the car around a tree and kill us both."

He ignored him. "Alright, Care, we're going to be there in a few seconds. Stay where you are and I'm going to come up and get you."

"Please be careful," she begged.

"I will."

Her house came into view then and he was instantly searching for the man watching her. He didn't see him but he knew that didn't mean he wasn't there. He did spot the broken window however and he felt his eyes change again. Low enough that Caroline wouldn't hear him, he said, "Go look for him. I'm getting her." To her he said, "I'm here Care. I'm coming up right now."

* * *

><p>She breathed a sigh of relief.<p>

She heard someone running up the stairs and she quickly got up and unlocked the door. She had pushed her nightstand in front of the door, knowing that it wouldn't stop someone from getting in if they really wanted to, but that it would make enough noise to alert her of an unwelcome presence. She pulled it away and went to unlock her bedroom door but the sound of metal breaking echoed through the room and then the door was open. She was in his arms, breathing in his scent before she even saw him. If she hadn't been scared out of her mind and so relieved that he was finally here, she would have blushed at how horrible she looked in short shorts and a tank top, her face red from crying before and after she saw Scarface.

"It's okay," he said, squeezing her tightly. "I've got you. Come on, we're leaving."

He practically carried her through the hall and down the stairs, his eyes watching for any sign of him. They made it downstairs and Caroline screamed when she saw someone in the doorway.

"Its okay, it's just Mason," Tyler explained. To him he said, "Did you find anything?"

"A scent," Mason said. "But whoever it belongs to is long gone."

They closed the front door behind them and Caroline looked around the darkness of her house, expecting him to pop up and say, "Boo!" even though Mason had said he was gone. Mason got in the driver's seat without having to be asked and Tyler slipped in the back with her. It wasn't until the car was started and they were pulling out of her driveway that she really began to breath again. She drew in a shaky breath and released it.

His arms tightened around her. "It's okay, Care," he said, stroking her hair. "I've got you. I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

She buried her face in his warm chest, realizing how cold she was in her tank top and shorts. As if he read her mind, Tyler said, "Turn on the heat." He pulled her impossibly closer to him, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to warm her more quickly.

"So you found a scent," Tyler deadpanned.

"Yeah," Mason said. "It was all around the house."

Caroline heard a deep sound in Tyler's chest, resembling a growl.

"It disappeared at the street, so I'm assuming whoever he was, he had someone pick him up."

Thethought of someone walking around her house, spying on her made her skin crawl. How long had he been there, peeping into her window? Was tonight the first night or had he been lurking outside all week?

Mason and Tyler continued to talk about who he was, why he was there, etc. The farther they got from her house, the more she relaxed and the more she realized that in a sick way, her wish had been granted. She was with Tyler. Of course, she hadn't wanted to be a mess the next time she saw him, but beggars can't be choosers.

She was an awful person. Here she was, playing damsel in ditress when the last thing she should be doing is asking for his help. She shouldn't have the right to look him in the eye, let alone be in his arms.

She was so intent on mentally beating herself up, she didn't notice they were at the Lockwood Estate until Mason had stopped the car. He got out, closing the door behind him and heading to the front door. She stayed still, waiting for Tyler to move or speak.

"We should probably go inside," he said quietly. She tried to find any hint of _anything_ in his voice. Anger, hurt, disapointment. There was nothing. His voice gave away no hint as to what he was feeling or thinking.

"Okay," she said.

He untangled himself from her and opened the door, holding it open for her. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and got out, instantly beginning to shiver. He slammed the door and put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the door.

Once inside, he locked the door and turned to her, his face blank. For a few seconds, he simply looked at her. Just as she was about to say something- anything- to break the silence, he said, "Why don't you go take a hot shower and then we'll talk."

She wanted to protest and say she didn't need to take a shower. She needed to talk to him and then figure out who the hell was lurking outside her window, but she didn't. Instead, she nodded and said, "Okay."

"You can use my bathroom. I'm going to go talk to Mason. I'll get some clothes and lay them on the bed." And with that, he turned and disapeared.

Tyler's bathroom was a lot neater than she had expected it to be. She imagined dirty towels, socks, boxers and empty shampoo bottles everwhere. Instead, she found a neat, perfectly acceptable bathroom done in black, gray and white. It was elegant, but it didn't have the feel of the rest of the mansion. No, she was sure Tyler had designed the bathroom himself.

She stripped off her PJs and dug around in the closest for towels. After finding two large, plush black towels, she turned the water on and adjusted the temperature to her liking. Once steam began rising from the water, she stepped in.

The water was hot enough to chase the coldess that had made its way to her bones away. She simply stood under the streams of water pelting her, relishing in the comforting warmth. It was so comforting, she had to force herself to grab Tyler's shampoo and lather it through her blonde curls.

Ten minutes later she stepped out of the shower smelling like a boy, but feeling a lot better than she had before. She wrapped one of the towels around her body and dried her hair with the other, dropping it in the hamper when she was done and walking into his room. Like he had said, there were clothes on his bed for her. The green t-shirt and gray sweatpants were definitely a woman's, so she assumed he had raided his mother's closet. She hoped Ms. Lockwood didn't mind.

The sweatpants fit perfectly, but Ms. Lockwood's upper body was not the same size as Caroline's. The shirt was too tight for her not to be wearing a bra, so she searched through Tyler's closet until she found one of his old football hoodys.

When she felt certain she was dressed appropriately, she took a deep breath and began her way downstairs.

* * *

><p>"How do you think she's holding up?" Mason asked, pointing to the ceiling. They were in the kitchen, which was directly under Tyler's room.<p>

"This is Caroline we're talking about," Tyler said. "She's shaken up, but she'll be fine."

"What about you?" Mason asked. Unless Tyler was hallucinating, he looked a little guilty. "Are you going to be fine?"

"Can you just stop with the whole worried uncle routine?" Tyler snapped.

"Listen, Tyler-"

"No," Tyler said. "Do you really expect me to believe that you're just worried about me? And that's why you've stuck around so long? Well I don't."

"Would you rather me of left and let you deal with all of this by yourself?"

Tyler ran a hand through his hair. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and with each passing day it was getting worse and worse. "You had no right to tell Caroline to come to the cell last night," he said.

"You and I both know you would never have told her," Mason said, as if this made everything okay.

"Maybe, maybe not, but it was _my_ choice. If I didnt tell her, it was because I didn't want to drag her into all of this. At least before you took that choice away, she was in my life."

"She wasn't in your life," Mason said. "You were on the sideline of hers. Could you really have watched her stay with Matt, you're best friend? Could you have stayed out of it when she kissed him in front of you? What about when she goes to college and you don't see her anymore? Could you really have been okay with that?"

Mason was painting a painful imagine in his head. "Maybe, but I'll never know, will I?"

Mason sighed and ran his hand over is face. "I know it wasn't my decision to call her, but can you honestly say that you aren't a little bit relieved that she knows?"

"I lost her," Tyler said. "The moment she found out, I lost her."

"You never had her," Mason said.

Just as Tyler was about to snappily reply, a delicate voice cleared their throat. Caroline stepped around the corner in one of his old football hoodys, her arms wrapped around her waist. Her hair was wet, her face clear of makeup. Something in Tyler's chest squeezed painfully.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," she said, looking between the two Lockwoods. "But can we talk?"

* * *

><p>Review?<p> 


	17. Announcement

**Did you guys think I was dead? I'm not, so yay!**

**Alright so as you've all noticed, I've been completely MIA for the last several months and I am BEYOND sorry. I know, I know. I suck massively. **

**I could give you a million excuses as to why I haven't updated in forever but it all really comes down to one thing: I've kind of lost inspiration for all things Vampire Diaries. Season 3 was a huge disappointment for me and it made me lose inspiration for all of my stories. I can't tell you how many times I've sat down and tried to write the next chapters, but I either couldn't write anything at all or what I did write sounded forced. I don't want to put out a 1000 word chapter that sounds sloppy and forced, which is why I haven't updated at all. **

**I'm on summer break now so I've been thinking that I might go back and rewatch some old episodes, hopefully getting inspired again.**

**I really don't want to give up completely, especially on Dirty Little Secrets and All Again For You. I'm so far into Dirty Little Secrets and I had huge plans for All Again For You. **

**So with that being said, I'm going to do my best to finish Dirty Little Secrets up and then dive into All Again For You. **

**I'm so, so sorry for the long wait and if anyone has given up on me, I totally understand. For those of you who haven't, you have no idea how thankful I am. **

**I hope you'll be hearing from me soon. **

**-Sarah**

**PS: Did anyone else have a complete mental breakdown when Elena chose Stefan over Damon _again_? I did. Let's just say I'm not proud my mom heard me talk like that. **


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